


Tranquility *An Avengers Fic*

by TheAlmightyGayWarrior2021



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bonding, Father-Son Relationship, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-05-19 16:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlmightyGayWarrior2021/pseuds/TheAlmightyGayWarrior2021
Summary: Seth Mason was abused. Sexually, emotionally, and above all else was forced to watch his mother get brutally murdered right in front of him. Luckily, though, he was saved.Not by the Avengers as you may have thought, but by a man by the name of Leo. He was trained as a mercenary and has abilities to match The Black Widow herself. But, with great power comes great responsibility. When an unexpected turn of events lands Seth in the hands of this rag-tag group of super-douches he has no other choice but to fight alongside them, whilst dealing with the loss of his family and gaining new relationships with the heroes themselves.Clint Barton refuses to let this kid suffer. Steve Rogers refuses to let this kid down. Nick Fury refuses to give this kid up and Tony Stark refuses to give the kid a break. Seth, himself, refuses to let himself forget.Maybe he'll get over his past assaults. Maybe he'll learn to cope with his loss. Maybe he'll gain a new family along the way.Maybe he already has.- Loki will be in later chapters- Some smutty shit, not among the Avengers (sorry Stucky fans) simply all fluffy shit- STRONG LANGUAGE





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Ok Y'all, I'm actually kinda proud of this story I wrote when I was 12. I fixed it up and now I'm starting to add new chapters. Please enjoy and feel free to give comments and suggestions!  
> R*PE MENTIONED: if this triggers you in any way I would recommend skipping forward. I'll put a warning where it begins and where it ends.

I was throwing an old, ragged tennis ball against the wall of my cell. The smell of the rust and mold seeping into my lungs making the air unbreathable. I've lost count of the number of days I've been in here... maybe a few weeks? I don't know. It was completely silent, other than the bounce of the tennis ball, and the scurrying of the guards outside the steel walls. I remember when S.H.I.E.L.D first got its grimy hands on me. Fury, the big black guy with the eye patch, stuck a needle in my neck, took some blood, told me he was gonna run some tests. They kept asking me how I got my powers, but I wouldn't have told them even if I knew myself. I would just give sarcastic answers. Eventually, they gave up and just resorted to science. They never told me what they found, but I think that's because they never really figured it out.

The needle Fury stuck in me didn't only take a sample of me, but it left some type of serum into my blood, numbing my powers and keeping me from escaping. Not that I really needed my powers to escape. Every day an agent would come in and inject more into me with more agents holding me down, keeping my powers at bay for the next day or so. Though yesterday Loki decided to breakout (for like the fourth time) so they forgot to give me my daily dose, returning to me my powers. I didn't wanna get out yet without all the cameras and whatnot.

Honestly, I don't see why I'm being treated like a criminal. I'm following orders, same as all these people. The only difference is my work is a little messier. Not the best line of duty I'll admit, but it pays well and gives me a place to live. I get paid to take down the big people. Big businessmen, leaders, people in power. I keep them out of the way of the people and out of the way of us. I'm a well-trained man, and if I wanted too, I could kill God. Weeks ago I was assigned a very personal mission. I was to sneak into Stark Towers and take out Iron Man himself, make it look like an accident or a suicide of some sort. The reason this mission was so personal was that of my last couple... Encounters with the man. That ass-hat fucked over my whole family.

See, my father used to work for Stark Industries and was a very close friend of Tony's, so automatically he was close to my family and me. I had even met the guy a few times in my youth.

A few years after my father started working for him, we discovered my mother was having an affair. My father went ballistic, quit his job (but not before calling Stark a creative amount of insults with some inappropriate hand gestures), and after months of arguing and blame, my parents finally filed for divorce, and my old man slipped quickly into a psychopathic mental breakdown. One night after a couple too many shots of straight bourbon he slit my mother's throat in her sleep. What he didn't know is that I was in bed with her, recovering from a childish nightmare. I woke up covered in blood to the sounds of my mothers gagging pleas. He was killed by an angry friend of the family before his court date and left me permanently in the fucked-up foster care system, switching between half-way homes and government guzzlings cunt bag foster families. I spent years full At age ten, I was stuck with a very abusive family. 

In every way, if you catch what I'm throwing. 

***ASSAULT WARNING***

I had a foster brother by the name of Trever, but I was supposed to call him TJ. By that time I had been dealt a boatload of situations and learned to cope with most of them, but he was in every way the worst thing I had ever encountered. He'd force me into things, threatening to tell my "parents" I was doing something bad if I refused. He'd lock me under the sink in the cupboard and bang on the door, lock me on the porch in the dead of winter for me to freeze overnight, and would strip me emotionally. Sometimes he'd go farther. Sneak into my bed at night and crawl under the covers with me. Most times I just pretended to be asleep when he touched me; rubbing his gross hands up under my shirt and down my sleeping shorts. He'd stick his hand in my pocket, rubbing... and... anyway. Then he'd "wake me up", and tell me that because he had done me I had to do him. He was fifteen and huge compared to my small 10-year-old stature. I was vulnerable and afraid. If I refused he'd beat me until I did what he said, and then he'd guide me where to go, where to put my hands and mouth, when to suck, when to blow and what to play with. One night, he wanted more. He took it a step forward and didn't even bother waiting for me to fall asleep. He walked over to my side of our shared room, ripped the blankets off me and my bed and pinned me down. He kept his hands tied to my wrists and whispered in my ear that if I screamed he'd kill me. If I told he'd beat me, and do it again and again and again for as long as I lived there. It persuaded me, keeping me silent as he slipped my clothes off and forced his way on top of me. He told me to hold on to the bedpost and "Keep your mouth fucking shut, you hear me?!"  
I cried into my pillow, my whole body fired with pain and my legs kept forcefully apart as he tore his way into me. It took everything I had to keep from crying out in pain. My nails dug hard into the wooden bed slab until I eventually went limp and gave up. Tensing around him only hurt more, so I took his advice to just "relax and enjoy it"...

I didn't enjoy it. 

 

***END WARNING***

And I didn't enjoy it the next time, either, or the times after that. One night, though, THE night, I was so tired of being hurt by him that I went to sleep with my foster-fathers double-action revolver in hand, and waited...

You can pretty much guess what happened after that. He was bleeding out on the floor, dead on impact when my parents burst into the bedroom door. By that time, though, I was already gone. I had no money, no food, no belongings, nothing but my bedtime shorts and a blood-stained white t-shirt hanging off my back. I jetted out the window and jumped into the grass, spraining my ankle on the hard ground. It was country-side New York, so my only options were to steal a car or hitch a ride on the next bus out. I didn't know the first thing about driving at the time, so I snuck onto a bus heading for wherever. I ended up in Queens, New York on the wrong side of the train tracks. 

I lived on my own for about a year, sleeping in dumpsters and stealing from laundry mats and outdoor markets. I met some people that took care of me, but they weren't 5-star residents themselves... I guess me having a Spanish-American background helped me fit in a little better. Later on, I met a guy named Leo Tapinety. He worked for an agency. The LOS, short for League of Saviors. It was more of a corporation if you will. Only they were nothing like Build-A-Bear or any of that bullshit. We make the world a better place by taking scumbags like Tony Stark out of the world. After Leo, or "Master", as I was supposed to call him, took me in, I was forced into intense training for my new career. I was taught to use every weapon in the books, trained in stealth and manipulation, and gained special abilities for any situation. I am not someone you wanna fuck with.  
Years later I am a world-renowned mercenary and a certified and prestige member of the League of Saviors. I have a body count of over 5,000 and the highest ranking prodigy in the whole corporation.  
When I was around 15 or 16, Master allowed the LOS to conduct a special-ops scientific genetic modification experiment on me. Over a series of weeks, I was put under heavy stress, training and torture to activate the genome located deep in my bloodstream. After numerous failures, a success came. The genome was found and mutilated to allow my special abilities, that of those comparing to Wanda Maximoff and Thor Odinson themselves. This only improved my original abilities and heightened my strengths. It gave me the ability to heal five times as fast as a regular mortal, allowed me to fry the lifeforce out of someone with a single touch, and morphed my original eye color from a dark green to a bright, exorbitant blue and white. After years of under the radar kills and countless unidentifiable reports of suspicious activity pressed against me with nothing to call for it, the press was "mysteriously" leaked a name: Rahasia, which is originally "secret" in Indonesian, Masters original language. 

My real name though is Mateo, which was then changed to Matt, or Matthew when I was put into foster care. After I mysteriously disappeared from my home at age ten, I changed my name to Seth. Seth Mason. Simple, and inconspicuous. 

Skip forward to now. I'm around 17-18-19, I don't really know, and I was assigned the Tony Stark job. The job was supposed to be quick, easy even. But I was careless and tripped the motion detector. Fuckin JARVIS.

Sadly, I didn't kill Tony Stark, but I did fight him, and I got a few good hits in. I was able to send energy waves using my powers to stall his hits, and if it wasn't for his stupid suit I probably would have succeeded in finishing him off, but he cut off my electric field, halting my powers and managing to hit me in juuuuust the correct spot to knock me out flat.

That leads us to now. Me, captured and sitting alone in a prison cell with a tennis ball and shitty - what I want to say is chicken - sitting on a plate a few feet away. You'd think for a billion dollar industry they could get me some Taco Bell or something.

I heard footsteps walking down the hallway, about 100 meters away. This is my chance. I looked at the security camera, gave a quick wink, then placed my hand on the wires on the walls and watched the electricity travel through the wall to the camera circuits to frying the lens and wires. 

This should be fun.


	2. Chapter 1 - Scream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOOOOO this is a continuum of the prologue, but I split them into two separate chapters and I'm calling this one chapter one. I promise this story gets hella interesting and painful. Thank you!!!

Last Time: I heard footsteps walking down the hallway, about 100 meters away, this is my chance. I looked at the security camera, gave a quick wink, then placed my hand on the wires on the walls and watched the electricity travel through the wall to the camera circuits, frying the lens and wires. This should be fun.

An agent opened the door, he was holding a tray with my injection on it. The one that numbs my powers.

"Get up." He harshly pulled me to my feet and spun me around, moving the hair from my neck to find the spot to place the needle. I took my chance and threw my head back, smacking him in the nose, and hearing the oh-so-satisfying cracking sound of the bone. He let out a squeal as the blood ran down his nose to his lips and off of his chin, staining his uniform. He brought his hands up to his face as to stop the bleeding. He dropped the needle and causing it to shatter on the concrete floor, serum flew everywhere. I grabbed his arm and twisted, causing him to howl in pain and turn sideways giving me the chance to knee him in the ribs. Hearing the clean crack, I kicked him to the floor, slamming his head into the steel wall knocking him out cold.

I didn't have a lot of time. I grabbed his keys and ducked out of the room, trying my best to dodge the other security cameras and guards. I made my way through the hallways, and I eventually found the room I was looking for and ducked inside. It was a long, dark, corridor with several file cabinets and shelves, holding several different types of weapons. I walked quietly towards the weapons, keeping my eyes peeled for any guards or cameras. The only thing I saw was fire alarms, so I indicated I was in the clear. I guess they just thought the guards I disposed of by the door would keep the room safe.

I found the weapons I was thrown in here with along with my uniform. I slipped it on and began collecting my weapons one by one. Two pistols with a flashlight attachment and a silencer, six rounds each. Several knives and throwing stars, a khopesh in a strap, a few sticky bombs and finally my gloves. My left glove has a computer attachment, a halo-computer, to be exact. Mostly used for breaking into databases and slipping past firewalls to get information for the LOS. Because I'm a prisoner here, I have a file, and the first thing they taught us is if you get caught to erase ALL evidence. That means getting the file and destroying it and all copies. I notice every file has numbers on it. I try and think back to the number that was on the t-shirt I was wearing. 

Prisoner 137 it said.

I started searching, 126, 127, 128.....

I suddenly heard the door open and I ducked behind a cabinet, trying to be discreet and quiet placing my weapons into their collective spot before returning my attention to the door.

In walked in big-boy blue decked out in pride and American glory, along with a shorter man. Hawkeye, I think is his name. They were in full uniform, Cappy with his shield, and the bird with his bow and quiver. I started searching for a fast exit, forget my file.

"-It doesn't matter, Clint. I was just being nice." The Captain seemed a bit antsy, his words shook and he looked distraught. They started searching through file cabinets, looking for something.

"Noooo... That was definitely something Cap. It was happy, flirty even. Does someone have a crush on a Miss Maria Hill? Because I don't think she's patriotic enough for you. Tony will be jealous."

Steve looked shocked "Wait, does Tony like her? Doesn't he have Pepper?" Clint chuckled.

"You're not the one he'd be jealous of." He lowered his eyebrows in confusion. I rolled my eyes. A couple meters back I found a rusty ventilation shaft just above one of the cabinets. It would be easy enough to climb up there and escape. I looked back to where Clint was standing, and he was looking straight in my direction, his eyes circulating around the area. He must have seen my movement somehow.

"Wait I don't get it-"Clint shushed him and loaded an arrow into his bow, pointing it straight at the cabinet I was hiding behind. He listened to the quiet for a second before dropping his weapon down to his side.

"The Hell was that?" Steve asked, looking even more confused than before. Clint looked at him then continued searching through files. "Sorry I thought I heard something..."

"So anyway, who is this kid again? And why is he so important?" I creased my brow in confusion. They were talking about me. I dropped back down into a squat, crouching slowly backward to make my way towards the vent. Clint closed a file and continued searching, the captain at his side looking as well.

"He's the little ninja kid who tried to kill Tony a few weeks ago, remember?" Steve turned to face him, putting back the file he was reading. He started to speak.

"Well, I know that, but who is he? Where did he come from?" Such beauty and grace. I felt the room becoming a bit tenser and I kept an eye on the time. It would only be so long until they starting searching for me, and I don't wanna be in a room with them when it happens. 

"From the data we've been collecting over the years, we found that his name is Seth Mason, otherwise known as Rahasia. He's a mercenary working for the League of Saviors, a terroristic extremist group SHIELD has been trying to knock down for years. They're a high-quality corporation. Every time S.H.E.I.L.D tries to infiltrate they move their slot and the search for even a trace of them starts all over. He's the closest piece of evidence we have." Evidence. So that's all I am. I see. "We believe this kid has been involved with over 42 hundred counts of first-degree felony murder." 

"You're telling me this is the kid who took out Mikhail Kolesnikov a few years ago? The single most heavily guarded man in existence? And we're keeping him in a low-security holding cell, yeah, that makes sense. Is he the same assassin that killed 6 U.S congressmen last year?" 

"From what we gathered from each crime scene, yes. He doesn't leave a trace, but killed each of them in the same way, the same part of their homes, and left evidence from previous felony charges stapled to their foreheads. Their families were murdered, too... Congressman Gritton had a six-month-old. It's pretty easy to say this kid doesn't have very much mercy... " Steve shook his head, disappointed.   
"What upsets me the most is how young he is... He can't be over 20-years old." Steve was leaning up against one of the cabinets at this point. The lights were dim, which was good. That'll make it easier for me to escape. 

"He's in his late teens, blood test shows he was born December 1st, 1998. He's only seventeen. Eighteen in a few weeks." Sweet Jesus on a unicycle- I'm seventeen? Wasn't I fifteen, like, two minutes ago? Boy how time fly's when you're locked in chains your whole childhood. The captain's mouth flew open in concern.

"Wait, seventeen and Fury's still going too-"

"What does it matter if he is or not? The kids dangerous and needs control. Plus, he won't follow through with it anyway, I'll kill the kid before he even sets foot in the tower." He cut off the Captain. "Natasha started young like that and look at all the pain she went through. He's lucky we found him before they ruined him even more. He should be-" He was cut off by an alarm. An announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Code Red, prisoner 137 has escaped. Be on alert for any suspicious activity"

"Shit" I hissed under my breath. Took them long enough to figure out I was gone. Looks like we're not the only ones that need to check up on security. Tom and Jerry started scoping out the room, SHIELD and bow raised, realizing my first stop would probably be the weapons room. I made my way on top of the cabinet below the air-ducked, trying to keep the noise on the down-low and tried unscrewing the screws on the ceiling, opening up the ducked.

Then I hear it, the oh-so-familiar sound of a bowstring snap, and an arrow being released. I feel a sharp, stinging pain in my right shoulder blade.

That dick nicked me! An inch or two to the left would have nagged an artery that would have left me dead on the floor. He's not trying to kill me. If he wanted to he would have. I turned around and made eye contact with him, he was smirking in satisfaction. What an ass.

I brought my hand up to my shoulder and pulled out the arrow. He looked at me, surprised I managed to do that without wincing.

"What the FUCK Richard? Was that necessary? Honestly. No decency." I threw the arrow back at him, but he already had another one loaded, this time aimed straight at my head. "Do it again. I fucking dare you," I hissed.

He glared and released. This time I managed to dodge, jumping out of the way and onto the floor in front of him. I grabbed the bow and twisted, forcing him to let go. He shot right back at me with a jab in the side, which I dodged and kicked him to the floor. The captain threw his own punch at me, but I grabbed his fist and held it there. I could feel his muscle shaking. I locked eyes with his. "Not so fast..." I mocked. I kicked him in the groin and used his body as a footstool, stepping up and wrapping my legs around his extended arm, dragging him to the floor with a loud grunt. An arrow was fired at me and managed to skin the back of my neck. I turned and saw Clint with yet another arrow locked and ready. I put my hands slightly up in a subtle surrender, making my way back to the vent on the cabinet. Why wasn't he firing? I took this small moment to examine my shoulder and noticed it already beginning to heal, but not quite. More damage was done by me pulling it out than from when the arrow entered. I knew I would be shot at again if I didn't think of something, so I did the only thing I know how to do right. I talked.

"You know, I never pictured you this small. I mean, I'm short, but I'm also a teenager. You're like, thirty. Also, you need to control your temper, you might pop a blood vessel." He was taken aback "You should also try not to strain yourself with all the cardio you do. You might break a hip. You're a senior, act like it." He looked angry. The captain, now back on his feet, used the palm of his hand to lower the bow. Three guards burst through the door and I took that as my time to skedaddle. They told me the freeze and get on the ground, but who are we kidding? That wasn't gonna work.

"That's my cue, sorry! Gotta blast! Tell the fam I said "hey"." He looked surprised. I jumped into the duct. 

"Oh wait sorry, one more thing." I threw a throwing star and hit him in the shoulder, making him yelp in pain. That was payback. I started crawling until I made it out a side ventilation system. I slipped out and ran faster than ever before, trying to get away from the gunfire behind me. After a while of running, I found an old shack to patch myself up in and spend the night in, a place to lay low. For now.

~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~

After I took out the tracker that was obviously placed on me when Clint shot me in the shoulder, I stitched up the gash with the minimal supplies I had handy and tried to sleep for the remaining hours of the night. Due to my powers, my shoulder should be fine by the morning. You know, enhanced healing and all that jazz.

After a while of just lying there, I started to think about what Leo's gonna do to me when I got back.

When I completed a mission, I was rewarded. Whether it be money, food, etc. But if I failed... There was punishment. And not a slap on the wrist either, harsh punishments. It ranges from long-term starvation, to complete isolation, to breaking almost every bone in my body. But because of how important this mission was, and for how long I've been gone, my punishment will be much more than a thump on the forehead.

What did The Captain mean when he said Fury was gonna do something to me? Also, I'm in no need of control, nor am I dangerous unless - you're a supremacist, a fascist or any type of in-power rotten businessman (or woman, even in murder we believe in equality here). It leans more toward... acts of social justice. These douche bags have it coming. We take out the big-bads, remember? The people who get in the way of the people. We're not doing anything wrong, we're the good guys... Right?


	3. Chapter 2 - Corruption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 my dudes,,,,

With my return to headquarters came immediate punishment and scolding from my master. He, for obvious reasons, wasn't pleased with the results of my latest mission. My punishment wasn't as rough as expected, only one long week without my three-course meals a day and a couple beatings from the man himself, which comparingly spoken to my last couple of failed punishments was only half bad. Normally on missions, I managed to find a way to sneak food without my company discovering so, and from my past life in and out of foster homes I was pretty used to not being fed normally. With my enhanced healing, though, came enhanced metabolism. I got hungry much quicker, and it was easier for me to become dehydrated. 

Master wasn't all too thrilled with me coming back without a file either, so that added on to the punishment. 

 

"You stupid fuck!" he yelled. It wasn't like I could run or fight back. The easiest thing for the both of us would be if I just stayed quiet and took what he was giving me. Master grabbed me by the throat, lifting me and slamming me against the wall. I was choking and squabbling for breath, but he didn't give. He hit me hard with a punch in my left ribs, bruising some of them accordingly. He continued to jab in the raw spots which lead to one of them cracking. I squeaked and bit down hard on my tongue, the irony blood taste filling my saliva quickly. "How could you get captured!?" Another punch. "I thought I trained you better!" He threw me to the floor. I found it difficult to stand after that, and him stepping on my thigh didn't help either. He pushed down, stepping hard. The pressure began to build up and I could already feel the boot marks branded into my wound. He kicked me hard in the side, which caused me to double over. I guarded my head while the side of his boot rammed itself up against it, only managing to kick my hands. I could still feel the pressure and the sharp pains in my cranium. He was really going all out for this one, wasn't he? 

"I thought I could trust you to get the job done. 'Parently I was wrong. Maybe I should have just left your ungrateful little ass on the street. You're a fucking embarrassment to this company and to my name. How could I ever have trusted you to do such an important job, or to represent me to the higherups. How can we trust you to work for the Council when you can't even complete a simple assassination?!?" I could feel the spit falling from his mouth when he yelled. I blocked out all sound, which really wasn't hard with the awful ringing in my ears. He dragged my by my collar and threw me into the wall. My nose broke on impact and immediately started to gush. 

"Disgusting," He growled. "Get to the medical wing and get patched up, you have mission briefing in ten." He dropped me and I ran.

I stood slowly, coughing and holding my ribs. A tooth was broken in the back of my mouth and part of my tongue was cut. The blood from my nose and my mouth were running down my face and neck. I looked at him directly, gave him a small solute and limped my way out of the "punishment room" and down the hallway to the medical wing. I stumbled over my own feet all the way down the hall, mumbling curses under my breath which each step. I was angry at the Avengers. Angry at Nick Fury, and Tony Stark, and at the whole situation. I was angry at myself for getting captured.

I had one job, the job. The job I've been waiting for my entire life. And I fucked it up. I can't even look at myself.

Then there was also what Rogers said in the file/weapons room. What is Nick Fury planning to do with me? Was he talking about the imprisonment? No, it was something else, something bigger. Judging by his tone he almost seemed... nervous, scared even. Possibly even worried. But why would Captain fucking America be worried about me? He said something about me being too young for it... too young for what? There's the obvious fact that they didn't come after me or even properly lock down the building.

Somethings gonna go down. Something big. 

I opened the door to the medical wing where I was met with the comforting face of our honorary nurse, Shelby. She used to be a protegee here, but was critically injured on a mission and was relieved of duty. Her master refused to kill her, so they trained her in medical and now they keep her in the back. She shook her head at me, greeting me and urging for me to sit down on the blood-stained table. It was a small, brightly lit room. Nothing on the walls but cabinets filled with popsicle sticks, cotton balls, and other medical equipment. She got a wet washcloth and wiped down my face. She didn't say a word, just doing what she was trained for. She reset my nose and had me lay down so she could relocate my shoulder, which until now I didn't notice was popped out. She wrapped my ribs and my leg in bandages. She knew me by name, seeing as I was a returning customer. "Jeez Jay," She said. "How did you manage to mess up this badly?" 

I smiled at her, showing my bloody teeth. She told me she couldn't do much with that. We kept the conversation to a minimum, just my explanation and her witty rebuttal to it. I left soon after, leaving her with my goodbye and a promise I wouldn't be back anytime soon. I looked halfway normal after my little doctors visit. My uniform covered most of my injuries and I was no longer limping or bleeding. Thank you enhanced healing. 

I started to make my way down to the briefing room. It confused me as to why I have another mission straight after my return, especially after just failing my previous one. I guess I was held by S.H.E.L.D for a while and I'm behind on assignments.

My knives clink as I walk down the main corridor through the crowds of newbies. I forgot to mention that the LOS is also a training facility for the proteges. We're all students here, learning and training to one day become top-level mercenaries to later be traded or sold off to do some dirty work for a rich investor. This place is a breeding ground for murderers. The LOS takes in students aged 6-18, those of us who don't get sold by investors, like Leo, become mentors for the later generations. It's a vicious cycle. It's literally an assassin school, which, personally, if filmed could have much better ratings than TMZ. We don't have many people here, Maybe 50 in all, including students, mentors, and guards. Not to mention the Council, who I'll tell you more about later. When I met Leo he had just graduated and was looking for a protégé. We're a university. A university full of deadly, kidnapped street kid-assassins. 

I have a reputation around here for being a big-shot. I have the highest average of successful assassinations, I've completed the most missions, and people have learned I'm not someone to fuck with (after a small incident involving a little disrespect from a fellow senior officer... Too bad he didn't live to tell the tale). Other people in the hallway part to the sides to let me walk. This place is just like high school, and I'm Regina George. People fear me, but they respect me. Due to the rank I am, instead of being apart of an auction to be traded into a ring like the rest of these fruity fucks, I'll be working for the men in charge of this whole cooperation. AKA The Council.

I've never met them, no one has. Apparently they're the best of the best. The people who created this whole thing. If I pull my weight, I'll become their personal mercenary.

The graduation is a little different. It's not a cap and gown, walk across the stage to get your diploma kind of thing. Instead of a diploma, you get blood. Meaning you kill someone. Leo said it was the hardest mission he had ever been on.

Surprisingly, I'm honestly not as much of a conceded douche bag as people think. I hear fake rumors all the time, some like I killed some kid for smiling at me, or that I fucked the German general to get Intel. I don't know who came up with these, or how they managed to find out about my sleeping habits, but whoever it is needs a good pop in the mouth. As I walk down the hallway I hear something behind me, running in my direction. By the time I turn around I'm already on the ground with someone on top of me. A gasp goes out throughout the hallway. These kids need to calm the fuck down.

As I start to get up, I hear a groan from the person who knocked me down. I look down the hallway where said person came from, and there I see a freshman, Cody Frazer I think is his name, with a Swiss knife. See, I told you people kill you. We've had three people get killed this year, and no one thinks anything of it, it's not a big deal here.

He stopped, panting when he saw me. I got up off the ground, the girl who knocked into me on her knees facing Cody. I stood behind her.

He closed the knife and stood up straight, chuckling to himself.

"Good luck there, mutt, you'll be dead before you can count to ten!" She looked confused at first, then she turned her head and saw me, standing there in all my glory. Her eyes went wide and she started apologizing. Everyone in the hallway snickered as she picked up her dropped belongings. I looked up and glared, everyone turned their heads and continued with what they were doing originally.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to knock into you, it just kinda happened! You see what happened was-" I cut her off.

"Dude, shut up, stop talking. It's not a big deal, accidents happen." She looked shocked. As did the rest of the hallway, knowing they were all still listening in, I shouted, "Hey! You maggots get back to your jobs and mind your own fucking business." They all mumbled a silent and scattered "yes sir" before turning back to their own conversations. I reached out a hand to her, and she hesitantly took it, climbing to her feet with a little help from me. She looked to be about a year younger than me, so maybe 16, she had dark brown hair and beautiful, big green eyes. She had soft skin and facial features. She was cute, not gonna deny it. She noticed I was staring and began to blush and look around. The girl was still speechless as she stood awkwardly in front of me. I decided to break the ice.

"I'm Seth..." I straightened my back and stuck out my hand to shake. "O-or Rahasia," I stuttered "Which is what most people call me," She took my hand and shook, smiling.

"Shady." She responded "And who knew the world famous assassin Rahasia was such a bumbling mess when it came to girls," I rolled my eyes.

"Haven't had much practice when every girl in this school is scared of me," I smiled.

"All but one." I laughed and tried to keep the redness from entering my face, to no avail. I scratched the back of my neck.

"Wow," I whispered. "This is really awkward." She let go of my hand and began touching my face and hair. I blinked back my confusion and raised an eyebrow.

"Um... what are you doing?"

"I still can't believe it!" She muttered. Ok, I'm really creeped out now. She began to touch my arms and circling around me, examining my back and chest. What the actual fuck is up with this chick?

"Believe what?" I questioned. She laughed and started poking me in the stomach a few times. I couldn't feel much, though, because of the Kevlar. Everything in my suit is electrically insolated, making it almost impossible to break through. Her shorter body only being at my shoulders made me uneasy as she examined me.

"You're... Normal! Well, not normal, but you get my drift." I looked at her with a lifted eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. "I mean, everyone makes you out to be this God-like figure who rules above all else. But no! You're nothing like that! I barely know you and I already can tell you're just a regular teenage boy!" I smiled.

"And how do you know that I'm not just gonna kill you right here?" She stood up straight and smirked, hands on her hips.

"I don't. And that's why I'm still here, the danger." She winked

"So now I understand why your name is Shady..." She hit my arm.

"Hardy-har-har..." I smiled, as did she. I like her, not in a romance, friends with benefits kind of way, no, just... a companion, maybe? Maybe with some benefits? And from the way she looked at me, I knew she thought of me the same way.

"Hey, don't you have a mission or something?" My eyes widened.

Shit. I'm late for my briefing. Leos gonna stake me for this. We'd agree we'd talk later, so I scurried off to my mission.

My mission was to take out the Republican representative for Alaska in the upcoming presidential election at their next public meeting in Juneau, Alaska. Rumor has it he was planning to exterminate the real public decision and vote for the opposite representative that the Alaskan government wanted, not the state. We can't have that, they're voting for Hillary. Apparently, the council isn't about that Hilary life, so I've been assigned to this mission.

~~~~~~~~Le Time Skip~~~~~~

I aligned my M24 (American) sniper rifle against the roof of the building I was stationed at. Aiming the scope at the podium where the rep will be giving his speech to the people to announce to them who the state winner is.

I sent Leo a text saying I was in position and ready, He responds with a detailed plan of the mission.

"He should be pulling up in a blue 1999 Cadillac Escalade at around 7:24 am, he and six other guards will make their way up to the podium at around 7:32 am. The speech should begin at about 7:35 am. Mid-speech at exactly 7:47 am, you kill him by a shot to the head. Retreat down to the fire escape of the building behind you, leaving the "murder weapon" on the roof, it has a self-destruct sequence set for 8:00 am. Hide in the stairwell for exactly 12 minutes. In those 12 minutes, dispose of your cover uniform and gloves by burning them. Once you've disposed of your uniform, link me to your earpiece and destroy this phone. I'll send you details through the earpiece once we get to that point. If there are any... interferers, kill them. Leave no witnesses, though you shouldn't be spotted anyway. We can never be too careful." –Leo.

As the car pulls up, I look at my surroundings. Three national news vehicles are here along with a few hundred civilians. Exactly seven guards are surrounding the area, three of which are controlling the gates to let people in. Only two of the guards have guns, the others have tasers. I check to make sure I have my pistols and throwing knives, just in case.

Time: 7:45, two minutes until I take action. You never get used to the feeling of a clean kill; there's always regrets no matter how many times you tell yourself you don't care.

Time: 7:47, Time to shine, I flip off the safety on the rifle and take aim. I take a breath and right when I'm about to pull the trigger, and the arrow hits the barrel of my gun, forcing my shot to miss. I hear screaming and realize I've missed completely, and there's chaos down below. People screaming and running as the guards rush the representative to his car.

I look up, astonished to see Hawkeye on the roof of the building a good 100 yards away. Of course! Why didn't I count on them being here? I glare and hop down the building, barrel-rolling off the top of a car onto the ground.

The Rep is racing down the freeway, so I hop on my motorcycle and start after him, shooting at the car, blowing out the back window. The streets become crowded, so I move to the sidewalk, speeding past pedestrians still while aiming and firing at the car. I finally get close enough to the car to jump so I abandon my cycle and hop through the open window, taking out the guard in the passenger seat and the two in the back holding the rep. I kick the driver out of the car while simultaneously scooting into the driver's seat where I take off down the road.

As the representative blubbers incoherently in the back seat I drive a few miles until I pull into an alleyway where I put the car in park and get out. I open the back door, yank the rep out of the seat and pull out my knife. I put it to his throat when I hear a thump behind me. Turning around, hand still clasped on the collar of the man's suit, I see the all-mighty Captain America, and standing next to him is a mister Clint Barton, or Hawkeye in this case, with an arrow locked and aimed straight at my Kevlar covered heart. I gripped the knife tighter and put it closer to his throat, a voice stopped me.

"I wouldn't do that, brother. You still have the choice to let him go. If you choose to kill him, you will be smitten where you stand."

Of course Thor's fucking here! Why wouldn't he be?! We already have Mrs. America and the fucking Cupid Shuffle, might as well add the Viking just to spice things up. I turned and smirked.

"Then smite me." I dragged the knife across the man's neck, blood dribbled out and dressed both my hand and the knife in a dark burgundy suit. He makes sounds that gross gargling sound while sliding to the ground. There's no saving him.

"No!" yelled the Captain, throwing his shield. I dodged it and let it lodge itself into the side of the car. I used it as a leverage device to jump onto a fire escape, which will then lead me inside of the abandoned apartment complex. I sprint through the building, ducking through hallways and rooms, one of them, probably the Captain, hot on my heels. I see an oncoming window that leads to the roof of another building, where I could easily escape.

I grab a rock from the ground and throw it through the window in front of me, breaking the glass and letting me jump through with minimal damage. I land successfully on the other building, rolling to the edge and looking over. Wow, this building is a lot taller than I anticipated. I look and see there's a dumpster (don't judge me for adding myself as a character) just below that I could easily jump and get down with minimal injury. I turn around to find all three of them ready to attack me.

"Ok," I put my hands on my hip. "I know this whole "Avengers Assemble" thing is like a team calling or whatever, but how in the bloody fuck did you all 'assemble' so quickly? We ran at least a quarter of a mile through that building and you all managed to keep up? Even though, Clint, buddy, I could hear you huffin' and puffin' from room 230. Cardio: very important," I snickered.

He tightened his grip on the bow. "How do you know my name?! And how did you know about my wife?!"

I rolled my eyes "I know everything, Mister Barton. I know you have to kids, I know your family lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and I know about your hearing aid. Oh, and might wanna check up on the misses, because... make that three kids." He looked surprised and almost dropped his bow. I looked at Steve. "And you, how did you ever snag a doll-like Peggy Carter? I thought you were afraid of tough women." I winked. They seemed to be getting angry now. Captain spoke first.

"Son, you don't have to do this. If you just come with us we can help you. You don't have to do this anymore. You can have your own, happy life,"

"Who says I'm not happy?" I glared.

"Are you?" He responded. My hands folding into a fist. A beeping emerged from my earpiece, signifying it was time to leave.

My face softened. "Whelp, I would just love to stay and chat, but I get nervous around the elderly, so I gotta skedaddle. See ya!" Before I jumped, I stopped and turned, looking back at the Captain. "Oh, and Steven? The next time you see Bucky tell him I said hello... He knows who I am." I jumped and did a flip off the roof, gracefully rolling off the dumpster below, breaking into a full out sprint trying to get out of sight. I called my cycle to come to me to take off, and just like that, I was gone.

***Captains POV***

I was about to jump after him when Clint grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"Steve, don't" He started "We got what we needed. Mission complete." He's right. The only thing left to do now is to tell Fury about the representative. That should be a fun conversation. How did he know about Bucky? Or Peggy, or Clint's family...? I need to talk to Fury about our personal files being breached. On our way back to HQ, I started thinking of everything that has to do with this kid. He's only a teenager, and with his skill, he's probably been training from early childhood. He probably never got a proper childhood. He and Nat are a lot alike.

I'm angry at Fury for what he's planning. He's still a kid! This isn't even remotely a good idea...

But I guess we'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out. Hopefully, in the end, we can help him.


	4. Chapter 3 - All's Fair In Love

I sat practically still on my bed, fiddling with a rubber band on my wrist. After I returned back to base, Leo told me he had a "special surprise" for me, and that I had to go wait in my quarters until he called me over the intercom. I was jittery and tense. Whenever Leo says he has a "surprise", it's normally not very fun for me. I completed my mission, though. I killed the representative and that's all that matters to him.

I stood up, stretching out my arms and neck as I walked, paced, around my room. I took a minute to take in my surroundings. It was just a plain, concrete room. It had a bed with a green comforter and white sheets, a single pillow at the head up against the wall. Next to it was a small, wooden side table, and on it was my mask and gloves, along with a small photo of my family. I know, so cheesy. To my right was a cabinet, and inside was my regular uniform. Think of Nightwing, just... Looser, and instead of a bluebird on the front of it, there were dark red stripes going horizontal on the sides until they cut off in the middle. I had a utility belt embedded into the fabric going across my shoulder and torso down to my left hip. Kevlar was the armor embedded on the inside. It's a little thicker around the important areas of my heart, lungs, crotch, etc.

My name rang through the loudspeaker, telling me to get down to mission briefing. I did as told and exited the room, locking it before meeting up with Leo. He was standing there, smirking, with something behind his back. I walked in, giving him a questioning look, my left eyebrow down and my lip curled on one side. "And what's all this?" I chuckled, sticking my hands in my pockets. I was in regular civilian clothes. Black jeans, grey hoodie, along with some black converse.

He pulled a suit covered in plastic wrap from behind his back. It looked to be fresh from the dry cleaners. "An early birthday present." He said, tossing the package over to me. I examined it then looked back up at him with the same confused look.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome. I'm giving you an easy mission for your success against the... Interferes I was talking about. You did good, Rahasia," My eyes widened.

"Wait..." I interrupted, "You knew the Avengers were gonna be there? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, and he scoffed, turning around and pulling up the holo-computer.

"I was testing you. I knew if you knew they were gonna be there, you'd be on edge. Too tense to get the job done. You handled it just the way i wanted you to do so, and you finished your mission. So, good job. This is your reward. Now stop asking questions we're on a time limit." I blinked for the first time since he started talking, and took a breath. I put my hands respectfully behind my back. "Your mission is to get intel on the Bulgarian Foreign Administrator, Daniel Mitov. Recently this man denied the accusation against Bulgaria saying the country has been exporting arms to Syria. He's lying. He's quoted telling reporters Bulgaria had not exported weapons to Syria since 2011. We have recent reports of Bulgarian weapons being fired against American troops since Thanksgiving of this year, causing thousands of fatality's and risking the win of the war for America. Mitov will be attending a press conference tomorrow night at the Broad Street Ballroom in New York City, where he will make yet another claim against the accusations. I want you to be there, and I want you to shake his hand with this strip on your palm." He held up a small plastic bag, and inside was a clear - what looked like to be tape. I gave him a look.

"Wait, I thought-"

"It's not lethal in any way, we're not gonna kill him... yet," Well, that makes me feel better. "The strip will cut itself thinner into two parts, one part will attach itself to the skin and send an electromagnetic pulse through his body, allowing us mental control over him for about... say... twenty minutes. In that time, we'll download everything he knows onto a chip that's inside of the other half of the strip on your hand. Do NOT lose that half, do you understand?" I nodded, along with a 'yes sir'. He turned back to me, smirking.

"I have faith in you, Seth. I know you won't let me down," He said. He rarely ever calls me Seth, so he's either super happy, or he knows this is going to go really, really badly.

"You have the rest of the night off. I'm letting the beast out of the cage; get out of here. Go into the city, be a teenager. Just... don't drink, don't smoke, and don't get caught or put in jail." He said, closing the computer and letting out a breath, tossing me a blackberry cell phone. "Call me if you get into trouble, okay?"

I smiled at him. "Yes, dad," I chuckled. He looked impatient.

"Just... stay out of trouble."

I nodded, turning and walking back towards my room to put the suit away. As I entered I was shocked to find a girl in there looking through all my stuff. I cleared my throat to get her attention, and she gasped, turning around

"Shady the fuck are you doing?" I asked, walking in and putting the suit in my armoire. "How did you even get in here?"

She shrugged and continued to search. "Got curious, I guess." I rolled my eyes and grabbed my handgun, along with a small patch that had a few throwing knives in it. I always bring weapons with me wherever I go. Just in case.

I was about to turn and leave before I got an idea. It's a stupid idea, and I might get the shit beat out me for it, but...

"Shady do you wanna go... I don't know, to a movie with me or something?" She stopped shuffling and turned. She looked shocked at first, a small smear of mascara underneath her left eye, probably from rubbing it. She was in a black short shirt that showed her torso, along with grey sweatpants and black converse. She was wearing minimal makeup, and her newly cut, neck length hair was pushed behind her ear. She smiled at me.

"Are you... Asking me out?" I blushed and scratched the back of my neck. Nervous habit.

"I-I guess I am... I got special privilege today, so... I wanna take advantage of it. I could go ask Leo if-if you could come. He's always telling me I need to get a social life," I chuckled, uncomfortable. She giggled, too. A blush became relevant on her cheeks, and she intertwined her fingers together. "Sure".

I was surprised. "Alrighty then, well... Let's go."

After getting Leo to allow her to go, we had a thirty-minute train ride and a twenty-minute walk ahead of us before we finally made it to a theater. We decided on a horror movie: "Lights Out". She insisted on seeing it, disregarding my opinion to see something else.

I fucking hate horror movies.

We got food, and we split a drink. I put it between us in the cup holder before sitting down in my seat, trying not to seem nervous. She caught on and started giggling before taking my hand and intertwining our fingers. "It's gonna be okay big guy." She smiled, turning back to the previews. I looked down at our hands and let out a breath. Weirdly, it calmed me, and lowered my blood pressure tenfold. Eventually, the movie started to play, and at everything, I would jump, whether it would be from the music or one of those useless jump-scares. Shady sat there, unfazed. Sipping the drink. Every time I would jump she would giggle and squeezed my hand.

I looked down at her and she was looking back at me. She raised an eyebrow. "You have assassinated a countless amount of people, and this is the stuff that scares you?" She whispered, and I laughed, turning back to the screen. After the movie ended, we walked hand-in-hand out of the theater, me smiling down at her as she rambled on about how stupid the film was. I rolled my eyes after she called me a "bitch ass pussy" for being scared. I nudged her shoulder, and she shoved me back with the same amount of force. "So, you wanna go get a smoothie or something?" She asked, and I smiled, nodded and watching as she led the way.

"So, you lived in the city? You know, before all this? You seem like you know your way around," I asked. 

She nodded."Yeah, my dad and I lived in Brooklyn after my mom died. He was a douchebag... Alcoholic, druggie, you name it. He eventually got himself nicked for not paying up to one of his dealers, so I was put in a home for a bit. When I was fourteen, I eventually got picked up by Diggy, my mentor, and he brought me into this life... I'm only sixteen, I hope you know. I know you're graduating soon, which means you must be around the age of eighteen. I-I know that probably doesn't matter to you, but I was just letting you know just in case you did." I shrugged, looking both ways before crossing the street, her just looking down at her feet.

"Doesn't bother me, don't worry... I'm sorry about your parents, I get how that feels," I said, and she looked up at me. Did I just open up to her, or did she open up to me? Whatever, that's supposed to be good. 

"So what about you? What's your story?" She asked. I grimaced thinking back.

"Nothing... fun." I sighed, "When I was... around eight, my mom was caught in an affair, and my dad flipped his shit. He... he killed her, and then he died in jail. From then till I was about twelve I was in and out of foster homes. Something... bad happened at my last home, and I ran away. I lived on the streets for while until Leo found me. Now here we are," I chuckled, and she nodded, taking it all in. I opened the door for her to walk inside of the Smoothie King, and we found a table.

"Well then, um... yay bonding," She smiled and laughed. I got up and ordered two smoothies before sitting back down, handing her one. She smiled and sipped, then moved a loose piece of hair behind her ear. I put mine down and used both of my closed fists to hold my head up, elbows on the table.  
"So why do they call you 'Shady'? I presume that's not your real name?" She snickered before shaking her head, no.

"You're right," she snorted, "My real name is Reina, it's Spanish. My mom named me after her grandmother, who was from El Salvador. They call me Shady because... Well, I'm a shady mofo," I laughed and sipped my drink.

"I'm gonna call you Slim,"

"I hate you,"

\---

"Report." My earpiece rang. I was scoping around the ballroom, adjusting my tie and hair. It was gelled back, my fingers sticky from continuously combing through it. I put my finger on the button, triggering the 'speak' part.

"I see him, I'm heading over now. The strip is already on my hand, I'm- oh shit." I whispered, stopping in my tracks. I squinted, trying to get a closer look, but I already knew who I was looking at.

"What? Whats wrong? What's 'oh shit'?" Leo asked me through the speaker. I winced, knowing what was coming.

"Sir... Natasha Romanoff is talking to the minister. S.H.I.E.L.D is in pursuit," He cursed, and I heard something thrown.

"Well, Fuckhead, either take her out and get the job done or just get it done. Just make sure it happens. They've never seen you in civilian wear, so just act like you belong there." I nodded and signed off, walking over to the minister. The guards seemed wary at first, stopping me before I could get to him. I held up my hands, reaching into my pocket and grabbing a fake CIA badge. Huh, apparently my name is Samuel Cole. They let me through, and I walked right up to the minister. Natasha was standing next to him, chatting. She was wearing a red dress, and her hair was curled. I smirked at her and gave her a nod before looking back at the minister. He looked to be around forty, forty-five, dark hair, dark eyes, and he looked like a total douchebag. Natasha squinted at me, and I stuck my hand out to shake his.

As if in slow motion, Natasha's eyes widened and she scooted in front, grabbing my hand, the strip landing on her palm before she gripped my wrist, twisted it behind my back and pushed me to the ground, her knee digging into my back. I growled, using my body weight to roll over onto my back and kick up, forcing her away for me, and allowing me time to get back up on my feet. I noticed her sway, and she fell, unconscious onto the ground. I growled and walked over to the minister, shooting him in the rib cage with my hand taser, knocking him out cold.

His guards hustled around me, but I managed to grab him and escape before any of them could catch me. I put my hand to my ear and pressed the speak button.

"Shit, she blew out my cover and managed to take the strip for him. She's unconscious, and the strip is downloading her knowledge. I grabbed Mitov, what do you want me to do with the bastard? He's out cold,"

He hissed, and let out a sigh. "Bring him to the base and we'll deal with him here. For now, just stay put. I sent a chopper. Do you still have the other half of the strip?" I said yes, and he was silent for a second.

"You managed to get the Bulgarian and Widow?" He asked, and I said yes again. "Well... Good work. This turned out better than I planned. A reward will be awaiting your return, Rahasia. Congratulations." He signed off. I was slightly shocked until I realized what we had obtained. We have the plans for the weapons trade and every S.H.I.E.L.D secret BW knows. This is not going to end well...


	5. Chapter 4 - Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok yall, I pretty much finished a good chunk of this bitch awhile ago, so now all I gotta do is post them. Their will be 23-24 chapters depending on how crazy I'm feelin that might change.

This is the last day I have to spend on my own. Tomorrow, I graduate. I will be moving up to work for The Council IF I survive my mission. Currently, I'm in the HQ lunchroom, making myself an egg before I go and meet up with Master. We'll be discussing my plans for the future, and he'll explain the guidelines of the graduation mission. Earlier I said the graduation wasn't a cap and gown. It's possibly the hardest mission i'll ever go on, just to prepare me for the new landscape of my mission priorities.

I put my breakfast on a styrofoam plate and sat down at a small table closest to the wall. The kitchen was like a lunchroom at a public high school. There was the already made stuff that you could grab a plate and take whatever, and to the far left was a stove, pans, a fridge, etc., only seniors were allowed to use them. Everything out is first come first serve, so if some kid comes in at six o'clock sharp and eats everything in sight, everyone's fucked for the rest of the day. That happened once... I've never seen so much blood come out of a live body. Here, stupid decisions get you killed. There were tables spread about the room, which was relatively large. Everyone had their clicks... just like high school. There were the burnouts, which were the people who almost never got missions. The amateurs, which were the kids. There weren't many of them. The suckups, the female suckups (if you catch my drift), the fearless, the fearful, then there was the drifters. The drifters where people who circulated between groups.

Shady, for instance, was a drifter. She was friends with everyone, and almost everybody loved her. They were all scared of her, though. Ever since we started dating, people had been treating her like a china doll. It's mostly my fault, though, with my reputation I wouldn't be surprised if someone fetched her fresh air to breath. Oh, and yes, we started dating. It's been about a month and a half since we went to the movie, and we've gotten close. Inseparable, almost. We were still badass, though, we weren't all lovey-dovey with the pet names and the little kisses every time we see each other. No, we don't roll like that.  
Speaking of Shady, as I was eating I felt someone put their head on my shoulder and wrap their arms around my waist. I chuckled and took a forkful of egg, holding it over my shoulder for her to bite into. She did so and picked up her head, sitting down next to me. "Sup" she chewed.

"Sup bitch," I smiled. She swallowed and kissed me on the cheek and sat next to me. I continued to eat, feeling someone's eyes on me. I looked up, making eye contact with one of the burnouts for a quick sec. He was glaring at me, and making googly eyes at Shady before he put his head back down in angst. I raised an eyebrow, standing and throwing away the rest of my egg before walking over. He looked back up, slightly fearful. The other burnouts scooted away, making idle conversation and pretending not to pay attention.

"Why were you looking at me? Got something you wanna say?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. He scoffed, rolling his eyes before standing up and puffying out his chest, squaring up to me. He was taller than me but much slimmer, almost no muscle on his bones. Black hair, dark eyes, pale skin. His breath smelled like warm mustard. He was one ugly mother fucker. He looked down at me, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah... i do. You're a reeaaaaaal prick, you know that? People are so afraid of you, always giving you what you want. Well, guess what? Nothing about you screams intimidating. You look like a dick, you really do. And quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing your name around-" He continued to ramble, and I let out a loud, impatient sigh, relaxing my posture and waiting for him to finish.

"You're girlfriend must be a piece of shit too. She could do better... A real man." I snapped back to attention, looking up at him again. I narrowed my eyes, distantly hearing his friends telling him to lay off. I bit my lip, slowly turning to walk back to Shady. She was giving me a questioning look before I turned, throwing a spare knife and hitting him directly between the eyes, the force so strong that it sent him back against the concrete wall before he slid slowly down to the floor. Dead. I examined my work and walked back over and ripped my knife out of his head, wiping it off with his shirt before turning and walking back to Shady. I sat down, and she let out a breath. I already knew what she was gonna say, so I interrupted before she could.

"He said something about you... I couldn't just let him get away with it."

"But you didn't have to kill him, Seth. You're better than that, and you know it."

"It's my job, Slim. I've been doing it since I was twelve. I'm sorry, but... I'm not gonna let people talk about you like that." She nodded, rubbing my arm before standing and walking out of the lunchroom. As she walked out, Leo walked in, waving a hand over for me to come with him. I obliged, putting my knife back in my pouch thing as I continued to follow him out of the lunchroom. He sat me down in his office, pulling out file after file of information.

"You understand what a big responsibility being the League's right hand man is, correct? No one's had this kind of allegiance in almost sixty years."

"Wow, thanks for the stress reliever, Master." I chuckled nervously. He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You'll do great. Just don't fuck it up, and don't be the little shit you normally are. You'll constantly be in uniform, and you'll constantly have to be ready to take orders. The amount of missions is a little less extreme than what you do here, but they'll be twice as important. If you fuck up a mission, you'll have to find a way to fix it without blowing your cover, and without risking the amount of casualties going up more than necessary. It's complete the mission or die trying. With us, you're taking out mediocre generals, but with them... There's a chance you'll be stopping nuclear bombs from blowing up countries you've never heard of. They'll reward you after every mission like I do, except your rewards will be larger, and more impressive depending on the mission," I nodded in understanding.

The conversation went on for awhile. Him explaining the guidelines and the rules and yippy yappy ya. It felt like centuries past before he finally let me go, telling me to get some rest in preparation for tomorrow. I thanked him, but before I turned to leave I looked back at him. "Whatever happened to the Bulgarian guy? What'd you do to him?"

He smirked at me. "He was executed weeks ago. Don't worry about it, we have it covered,"

I walked back to my room, stripping myself of my clothing and jumping into the shower. After about ten minutes I got out, wrapping a towel around my waist and walking out into my regular room area. I let out a surprised yelp, noticing Shady sitting on my bed, flipping through a book. She looked up at me, her eyes widening and a blush spreading across her face. She put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry! The door was unlocked I didn't know you were in here." She whimpered. I chuckled, walking over to her and patting her head.

"You're adorable, you know that?" I smiled. She growled at me and I moved over to my drawer, pulling out a pair of boxer briefs. "Hey im dropping the towel, beware." She nodded her head, picking the book back up and beginning to read again. I changed into the underwear, then dug through my drawers for a pair of sweatpants. As I was looking, I glanced back at her and noticed her staring, her cheeks bright pink. I gave her a look, and stood straight up. She ducked back down to her book, her eyes widened. I smirked and put on the pants before walking over to her, sitting next to her and taking the book. She looked up at me, her green eyes glancing back and forth between my blue. She wasn't wearing makeup, bags apparent under her eyes. Her eyelashes were long and tangled. I smiled at her, scooting closer and putting my hand on her cheek. Her skin was smooth. She had strong cheekbones, very noticeable. She kept glancing down to my lips. We were both inching closer to each other, and eventually our lips met and we kissed. Electricity sparked between both of us, and after a few seconds she pulled away, wincing and holding her lip. My eyes widened and I scooted back, sitting up straighter.

"Shit, what happened, are you okay?" I asked, and she nodded.

"You just... kinda shocked me. Not just with your performance, but you literally shocked me... That hasn't happened before? Are you feeling alright?" She touched my face, and I leaned into her touch. "Your eyes are so blue... more than normal, obviously..."

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm just a little stressed for tomorrow, ya know? I guess that's my body's way of relieving stress." I smiled. She put her hands on my waist and I put mine on her arms.

"Do you wanna.... relieve.... some of that stress?" She smiled. Her hands were fiddling with the elastic of my sweats. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what do you mean by that, madam? Aromatherapy, a massage, acupuncture....?" I said.

"If that's what you wanna call it," She laughed. She pulled me down on top of her and kissed me delicately, feeling up and down my back. I kissed her back, giving her all the passion I could muster up. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was taking her shirt off and kissing her neck, and she was grinding back against me. She was playing with the strings hanging from my pants. I pushed myself up so I was just above her and flipped so she was on top. I put my hands on her breasts and she giggled. She reached behind her and unstrapped her purple bra, it going loose around her shoulders until she completely pulled it off and dropped it to the floor. She seemed a little uncomfy and hesitant. I asked if she was ok. 

She was breathing heavily. "I'm fine, I promise, I just haven't done this in awhile. It's just nice to do it with someone that... actually means something to me, and not just for another mission." I agreed, completely understanding. We had never really talked about sex. Neither of us were virgins by any means, and we had done things together in the past, but nothing much more than oral. I felt comfortable enough with her to do this, and she told me she felt comfortable as well. We got back on track which eventually lead to my pants off and her preparing me for what was to come. Things were moving fast, and before I knew it she was below me and I was slowly pushing myself inside of her. It was an uncomfortable and foreign feeling at first but after getting into a rhythm that worked for the both of us the pleasure was intense for the both of us. 

"You're reaaaaally attractive, you know that?" She said in between heavy breathes. I kissed her neck and sucked on her skin, leaving a couple of bruises. Her skin was smooth and salty with sweat. She wanted more. Shady, throughout our relationship, was always the one to take control. I had initiated moves in the past, of course, but she's always been one step ahead. She's been the one to take me out of my shell, bit by bit. She ordered her own food, beat me in carnival games, and was nothing if not competitive. Times like this were a good example. She pulled me out of her and flipped me onto my back. She climbed on top and quickly resumed our rhythm, this time faster and much more intense. She had her hands on my chest and was moving her hips up and down and doing everything just right. Our hands were somehow lead to one another and our fingers were halfway intertwined. Her head was thrown back and she was spitting out curses through her teeth. She looked at me with her mouth hanging open, her moans getting louder and more shaky with her hips speeding up with my help of balance. She let out a loud curse, her eyes rolling back and her hips slowing. I didn't wanna stop, and neither did she, apparently even after she had finished. She was slow again at first but quickly picked up her pace again. She grabbed my wrists, pinning them down above my head. My heartbeat sped up and I felt myself start to shake. There was a distant ringing in my ears, and suddenly I wasn't having fun anymore. I was immediately nauseous and claustrophobic, and suddenly I was 12 years old again. Suddenly it was dark in the room and someone was whispering to me. Suddenly there was a gunshot and my eyes were squeezed shut and I was yelling at something or something was yelling at me. My eyes flew back open and I saw shady's face and I remembered where I was, but that didn't stop a panic attack from ensuing. I all but pushed her off of me and she fell back onto the bed, a little agitated and confused, but I couldn't even comprehend where I was or who I was with or what was happening and I was crying. Crying and looking into her eyes and apologizing. I covered myself with whatever I could and laid back down, staring at the ceiling with my fists tightened hard and my nails digging into my palms. Shady stood, a sheet wrapped around her naked body. She wasn't speaking, she knew it wouldn't help what was happening to me and she didn't try to touch me. She put her underwear and bra back on along with her t-shirt that was left limp on the floor. I was breathing through my nose and biting my lips. Eventually, my mind calmed and I was exhausted. I sat with my legs hanging over the bed and my arms on my knees. I was staring at the floor and Shady was staring back at me. She handed me my pants and I put them back on, and she sat down next to me. I felt my comforter being put on my shoulders and someone was leaning against my arm. Shady rubbed her nails up and down my back in an attempt to comfort me, but there was only so much she could do. 

"I'm sorry, Reina... It's just... Some things have happened to me in the past, and an old memory came up... I promise you didn't do anything wrong." She let me finish and pulled her legs up to her chest. 

"...Baby..." She'd never called me that before. "Don't apologize, ok? I get it. Well, I don't get it, I don't know what happened to you and if you don't wanna tell me that's fine, too. That was... Intense, to say the least, but right now I just want you to be comfortable." Her voice was soft and comforting. I nodded and we sat in silence for a couple moments. She kissed my shoulder and closed her eyes, her head still leaning against me. "Seth...?" She started. "On our first unofficial date, you mentioned something bad happening in your last home. Was that bad thing that happened... what I'm thinking of?" She asked. I guess it was only right for me to answer her questions. 

"He was my foster brother... a couple years older than me. He was a nasty, disgusting piece of shit, and what he did to me was... gross, and unforgivable. When he would advance himself on me, my arms were always pinned down. So when you, uh... Yeah... It just triggered something. I didn't mean to push you. I'm sorry." She nodded and let her imagination take her elsewhere. She understood what I meant. I decided to move on to a different, no less depressing topic.   
"This... Is probably the last time we're gonna be able to hang out together. I graduate tomorrow, and if I pass then I only come back here to get my shit and leave. And if I don't, then..." She stopped me, looking up at me.

"Don't you fucking say what I think you're gonna say. You're not gonna die, you hear me? Even if we never see each other again, I just need to know you're alive." I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek. "You're my best friend. I've never felt this way about someone. I... I really like you, Seth. Fuck, I love you. I believe in you and I know you'll come back. You have to, dammit. I need you to promise me you will." I squeezed her hand, and I saw her eyes start to water. I was already crying from earlier, so I let a tear or two fall myself. 

"I can't do that, Rei... You know I can't promise that. The work we do is so unpredictable, who knows what could happen." She started to cry a little harder. "Look at me. I can't promise I'll come back alive, but I can promise that while I'm fighting, you'll be on my mind. If I die, I'm gonna die thinking of YOU. As fucking cliche and dorky as that sounds-" she laughed, "-I love you, okay? And I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it before I leave tomorrow. I'm not just saying that because you're literally sobbing. I love you, Reina," She wiped her eyes, and we both had big goofy smiles on our faces. I kissed her cheek, and that's how we stayed all night. Her on my shoulder and my head resting on hers. Until tomorrow comes...


	6. Chapter 5 - Graduation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's a stupid bitch in this one, ya'll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been inconsistent with my uploads recently, I've been having some health problems, but I'm OK now! Chapters will hopefully be more frequent.

"Just breath" I thought to myself. I was in full uniform, my entire weapons gallery dangling off my belt, the pockets on my legs full of throwing stars and rounds of ammunition. I was in the briefing room, four other guys all lined up next to me, and all our Masters standing in front of us. The holo-computer was up behind them, just on a blank screen. Leo stepped up in front, hands behind his back.

"Welcome to graduation, kids." He smirked. "As you all know, your graduating mission will be one of the most intense you've ever encountered, and there is a very strong chance most, if not all of you, will not survive." He was completely still as he talked, absolutely no emotion as he looked us all up and down. "I sure hope you all said your goodbyes because this is the last you'll see anyone from this cooperation until your full training is complete. That is of course if you live. If you fail your mission and make it back here, you die. If you complete your mission, but it takes longer than twenty-four hours, you die. If you do not return here within twenty-four hours and your mission is not complete, we'll send someone out to bring you back dead. If you die during your mission, then, well, you're dead. But, if you return to base within the twenty-four-hour time limit, and your mission is complete, congratulations, you graduate.

"Each of your missions will be different and dependent on your skill level. For instance, Mr. Kutto here," He pointed the kid on the other end of me, "his mission will probably be incredibly difficult for him, but child's play for, say, Rahasia over here." All their heads turned to me, but I kept my focus forward on Leo. "Anyway, I will not be the one assigning you your missions. The Council will. A member of the council is waiting on the other end of this call, and he will be assigning you. I'm not allowed to give away any information, but I will let you know that as soon as the councilmen dismiss you, your time limit has begun. I don't give a shit if your mission is halfway across the world - find a way to get there without wasting time. Good luck, men." And with that, he turned and walked away, saluting me on his way out. I saluted back, and the rest of the mentors did so with their own proteges.

Suddenly, a Council member popped up on the screen, no facial features present, just the black outline of a figure. "Good morning, graduates." He spoke. It was an animated voice, but it was buoyant. A little creepy, to say the least. He continued, "I am a member of the council, but, I was once standing in your shoes. I graduated at the top of my class, and I completed my mission within ten hours. I trained harder, worked nonstop, and now I'm the head of this whole cooperation. I could ramble on for hours, but most of your missions are centered on time, so we'll get started."

With every mission, he made the contender step forward, he explained the mission, his resources, and dismissed them. The first mission he handed out seemed to be child's play, for me, at least. The missions gradually got harder as they went down the line until finally, he told me to step up.

"Rahasia," He started, "Since the first day you came here, the Council has been watching your every move. We've watched your training, your punishments, and your healing abilities. Your powers... Shocked us, to say the least. As you grew, the stronger they became, and the more useful. We've noticed your potential since the first mission you went on, and I applaud you. Now the time has come for you to come work for us, the Council. Maybe one day, you'll fill our shoes once the sun has set on our time." I kept the same expression throughout his speech, my posture still upright, and my body still. My hands were behind my back, elbows out; just as I'd been taught. The Council member continued on. "weeks ago, you were sent to retrieve data from a Bulgarian foreign minister. Instead, you used the strip we supplied you on the Black Widow, whilst kidnapping the minister. We now have all S.H.I.E.L.D information, along with the truth about the arms dealing. I regret to inform you, that after we retrieved Intel from the minister, we were forced to execute him. He is dead. The Widow, on the other hand, is back at S.H.I.E.L.D with her boss, Nick Fury. Your mission is to take him out." My eyes widened.

How in the bloody fuck am I supposed to kill Nick Fury? He's one of the most powerful men on the planet, along with a band of superheroes to protect him!

"All the information about the mission you need has been sent to your holographic glove. Good luck, Rahasia, we hope to see your return shortly." And with that, he signed of. I felt a wave of panic come over me, remembering I only had twenty-four hours to kill him. I'm getting my place on the council one way or another. I sprinted to the exit of the base, flipping through the information on my glove as I ran.

Nick Fury is currently in the Northwest S.H.I.E.L.D building in downtown Manhattan. He arrived at around six am for what looks to be like a staff meeting. I rambled over all the information in my head, thinking of a way to complete this. I quickly hacked into the Bellet Construction Company's database, searching for the blueprints of the S.H.I.E.L.D building. It's strange how easily you can find the companies that built the buildings. One quick Google search and here we are. I located the blueprints and found my entry. There's a rafter on top of the building next door, and all their sewage pipes are linked together. All I gotta do is get into the sewage system from a nearby pothole, work my way around all the poopies, then get into the S.H.I.E.L.D building. Easy as cake, hopefully. Fury's office is on the top floor, surrounded by my other office workers. There's a fire alarm on the left end of the conference room, that's my entry point. That way, as everyone's fleeing in terror, no one will notice the fatality of Nick Fury. Perfect. This will /totally/ work. 

I put a timer on my glove for 23 hours and 43 minutes, the time I had left. I made my way to the hanger, quickly changing into civilian clothes, grabbed my motorcycle from the hanger and made my way downtown. After a ten minute ride, I parked around a mile away and decided to walk the rest so I didn't seem suspicious in the hectic Manhattan crowds. I had sunglasses on, along with my gloves. I walked into a Chinese restaurant next to the building, and made my way to the back, telling the worker I was gonna smoke. I found the pothole I was looking for and made my way into the sewers. I pulled up the blueprints and walked, trying my best to ignore the gross, malodorous smell of shit staining the concrete walls. After ten or so minutes, I finally was directly under the S.H.I.E.L.D garage. Realizing they definitely had cameras, I sent out an electromagnetic wave, freezing every camera within a ten-mile radius. Every security camera should be playing the same four seconds over and over again. I quietly made my way out of the pipes, and into a stairwell. I ran up the stairs, letting myself out on the third floor. As soon as I walked into the hallway, I saw three things. A janitor, a unisex one stall bathroom, and a mop bucket. The cameras are still frozen, and I took my chance to walk up to the janitor, snapping his neck and dragging him into the bathroom. I quickly changed into the uniform and grabbed the mop bucket, leaving the guy in the now locked bathroom stall. The uniform matches my shit stench, so I don't think anyone will question it. I made my way down the hallway, trying to keep my attention to the floor, mopping at the tiles and listening in to conversations of the workers. I walked into the main cubical sections, seeing people working on paperwork, making phone calls, I think there was even one guy playing Galaga. I made my way into the conference room, closing the door softly behind me and closing the blinds. I quickly made sure I had everything with me, doing a recall of my weapons and ammunition. I threw my mop and bucket to the corner and pulled the fire alarm.

The siren started blaring, and I saw people hustling out of the building, water spraying from the spouts in the ceiling. I slipped my way out of the room, and in the midst of the panic made my way to Fury's office. "Please be in there." I thought to myself, my hair soaking against my forehead from the water dropping above me. I stepped back a bit, beginning to pull my 44 magnum from my belt loop and kicking in the door. With the silencer attached, I fired; the man sitting at the desk in front of Fury dropping to the floor with a thud. I made eye contact with the man sitting behind the desk. He was a lean, African American man with an eye patch. A scar traveling down his right eye just above his cheekbone. He smirked, pressing a button on his desk. "I was expecting you for quite some time, bitch." he whistled, and I felt my body beginning to go limp. What's happening? I thought, blinking my eyes softly, letting out soft groans as I started to grow weaker.

"After you escaped from your holding cell back at the imprisonment center, I hooked up this fancy-ass blood thinner trigger from the injections I'd been giving you." I felt myself start to sway, my eyes starting to droop and I heard the thud of my gun dropping to the floor. Soon after was a second thud, me. I was on my hands and knees, groaning as everything beginning to darken around me.

"Nighty night, Rahasia," Was the last thing I heard before the world seemed to stop spinning, and the darkness overtook my sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to recommend this to anyone you'd like. Friends, family, the police, whatever, lets just spread this around! Like and review, please!


	7. Chapter 6 - Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SORRY for the delay, more health shit. This chapter is short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, i'll be posting 2 chapters today (Hopefully)

It was dark. I felt restriction all along my body and it kept me from moving. When I finally started to come to, I heard voices around me. People were arguing, I think. Shouting back and forth to each other. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, the effort to do so was so overwhelming it made me fatigued.  
I tried to listen in to the conversation around me, but couldn't hear past the pounding in my head. A wave of nausea and chills came over me and made me groan and adjust my position, telling whoever was in the room with me that I was awake. I finally brought myself to open my eyes, my eyelids incredibly heavy and the drowsiness showing through. I tried to bring my hand up to rub my eyes but, unsurprisingly, my hand never moved. I looked down and realized I was strapped to a table of some type. It almost looked like an inversion table. All around me were people. I made eye contact with one before they quickly went back to doing what they were doing, but I managed to catch a glimpse at their name tag. They worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Of-fucking-COURSE they worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

I let out a breath, and continued to look around the room. It was all concrete, and there were machines everywhere. People were scattered, all doing different things. The arguing became noticeable again, so I searched for the source. My eyes lingered a second on an area, before the blurriness finally cleared, revealing Miss America and Fury, throwing words back and forth. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Girls, you're both stunning, but can we have a little chat?" I yelled, and they turned. My voice was hoarse and scratchy, almost soft. Damn, it didn't come out as threatening as I wanted it to. Fury smirked and made his way over. The Captain, obviously irritated, followed behind.

Fury stood in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest with a satisfied smirk traveling across his face. "Welcome back, Mr. Mason. Glad you came back to us... I was starting to believe you'd never wake up. Got me worried," I scoffed.

"Why am I here? Just.... Let me go." I said, giving him the 'innocent kid' look. I squirmed in my seat a bit, looking back up at him. I blew a piece of my hair out of my face, continuing to fidget. He chuckled, and walked over to a panel, flicking a button. I felt the searing pain of electricity throughout my whole body. I tensed and grit my teeth, letting a scream escape my mouth. My body was convulsing, every muscle straining for release. My jaw clenched as the pain started to subside. I looked up at Fury, my eyes narrowed down to a glare. I jolted again, trying to get my arms up but the restraints held them steady. I looked up at Steve, giving him a silent plea for help. He just looked down, refusing eye contact. Fury walked back in front of me. "Yeah, we can talk," he said

I returned my gaze to the restrains. I started to get angry, the pressure in my wrists tightening and the small blotches of pain still going through my body where the shock was present. I didn't know being electrocuted hurt so much. "Why am I here? Can't we just skip to the part where you throw me in a cell?"

"You were in a cell, and you got out. So we brought you here." Fury snarked. I squinted, confused.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"I don't know, a few days, maybe?" A few days?! Oh shit.... Oooooooh shit i'm so dead. I failed my graduation, and now I'm dead. "But we have more... important matters to discuss, Seth," He said. I grimaced at him using my name, but I didn't say anything for fear of another shock. He looked at Rogers before looking back down at me. "I would like to talk to you about the Avengers initiative."

Oh shit.


	8. Chapter 7 - Hospitality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This ones a little longer and a little fluffier,,, lets rage

*Months Later*

"GET OFF OF ME"

The heavyweight on top of me started making my spine curve, the pressure digging my ribs into the concrete floor. The mass on top of me chuckled and sat up, finally just sitting on me. "Tony Stark I swear to God I will slit your throat with a butter knife, get up!" I yelled.

I saw him smirk. "Nope," He said, "not until you give back my thermotechnical watch, mutt," I continued to squirm under him, until eventually just laying flat.

"Why would I want you stupid fucking watch, Stark? God, I wish I didn't have this dog collar... god you'd be dead so quickly."

You're probably very confused, aren't you? Let's rewind.

Several months ago, I was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury, seeing the potential in me, signed me up to work with the Avengers. Boy oh boy, what fun we've had.

He immediately put me into intense training. Physical, mental, emotional, you name it. Not much different than what I received working with the LOS. training went on for about three months, and in that time period, I had absolutely zero communication with any of the others. Steve occasionally came by for physical training, and Stark sometimes came to observe. After those three months ended, I was introduced to the rest of the squad and for the most part, lived full-time in the Avengers headquarters. Of course not without a multitude of precautions. I had to constantly have some sort of supervision unless I was in my room (which had cameras in every corner), and Tony created this electromagnetic collar that attached itself to my bloodstream, so if I ever try anything on any of them, try to escape, or even just piss one of them off, Stark has the power to just click a button and it'll trigger the same response as it did with Fury. The blood thinner will be injected, and I'll either pass out for a bit or die. Depending on how long he holds down the button. Every Avenger has a copy of the remote.   
Its been an uneventful last couple of months if I do say so myself. I don't do much, mostly just covert operations with Natasha or stakeouts with Clint. Steve is my unofficial training partner and history tutor. The man likes to tell his stories.  
I've learned a lot about these weirdo's. Little things. I figured out Steve loves romantic comedies, Natasha absolutely despises peanut butter, Clint likes to fish, etc. These months have changed me as a person, as cliche as it sounds. When I first got here you couldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole without me biting at it. Every time someone attempted to talk to me, my initial response was a simple "fuck off", but as the months went on I realized I was stuck here. Fury worked his voodoo magic and somehow convinced the League I was dead. No one was coming to get me, and I wasn't escaping. 

I don't want to escape, as much as I hate to say it. I have no reason to. I'm treated better here. I don't get beaten, I'm fed, I have my own bed, actual clothing is supplied to me... The only thing is the collar.

Don't get me wrong, I still fucking hate Tony Stark with a burning passion, but there's nothing I can really do about that. He doesn't remember me or my father, not my mother either. But this is my home now, and I'd rather be here and have to pretend I'm teammates with the people I'm supposed to hate than be back there being forced to kill people. Anyway, now that we're all caught up...

"Don't get your hopes up sunshine, I'm stronger than you think. I've been drinking these kale smoothy things in the morning. God, they're gross, but I've lost three pounds, so." I growled and told him to go fuck himself. He fake gasped, "What is with this language, child? I ought to stick you with a bar of Dove," He said.

I rolled my eyes and moved him up my torso with my knees so he was sitting on my stomach. I was staring up at him, and he was looking back down at me. "What's next, cupcake?" He chuckled, relaxing. "Are you gonna give me back the watch, or will I have to squeeze it out of you like a water balloon?" I relaxed my posture.

"Neither." I breathed out, lifting up my legs and wrapping my ankles around his neck. I saw his eyes go wide, but before he could do anything, I moved my legs back down and slammed his head into the concrete, a loud grunt echoing through the room. I flipped myself back up, standing a few feet away from him. He sat up,   
"I know you took it you little shit!" He yelled. He pulled out the remote to my collar and pointed it at me. I stayed in a fighting stance, but we were interrupted.

"Enough," A voice came from the doorway. We both looked and saw Steve with his arms crossed over his chest. "Tony, Bruce has your watch down at the lab. He's testing the field like you asked him to do." I squinted down at Tony, crossing my own arms. He held up his hands in defeat.

"Okay, my bad, I'll take that one for the team. I apologize for straddling you like an 80's hooker on New Years. I'm gonna head down there." He rubbed the back of his head and scurried to the slide doors, leading to an open hallway then to the lab. I looked back at Steve, putting my arms down and walking towards the couch. He studied me for a moment before sitting next to me. I didn't turn on the TV, instead, I laid back, putting my hands behind my head and letting out a breath. "What?" I asked, knowing he was gonna start.

"Anger management-" was where he started, and I let out a loud groan. "-wait now before you-" I interrupted.

"Come on, Steve! He sat on me! What was I supposed to do?" I stood up, facing him. He stood too.

"Why is it always a competition between you two? Always arguing! Can't you two just get along?" I rolled my eyes at him. 

"Why am I always the one at fault for this shit? He treats me like I'm dirt and has since the moment I arrived here. I don't get it, Steve. I just don't understand why. I'm trying my best to be good, and I've done everything he's asked of me. I've been as nice as I could, but I'm up to here with frustration." I complained. He nodded along as I talked. The sun was beginning to set and I was blinded by it through the windows. The golden-hour light filled over both of us. "He hurt my mom, Steve, and now he's trying to hurt me. What the fuck did I ever do to him? He sees me as nothing more than a killer. He acts like I wanted to hurt those people. Like I have no remorse or regret for the families I've hurt... I just don't know what to do to make him happy." I slumped and ran a hand through my hair, messing it up more than it was before. Cap and I weren't very close. More work buddies than anything. Fury, though, decided to guilt-trip him into taking responsibility for me, telling him about my parents and what other small amounts of information he had at the time. Steve was the only one, besides Fury, that knew about what I've been through. 

Steve leaned against the couch. "Look, Seth, I understand why you're upset. I know your mother meant-... I know she means a lot to you, but you have to let the hate for Tony go. He's your teammate now. I'm your teammate now." I smiled up at him. It wasn't real, of course. It was a sarcastic smile.

"And what a blessing that is." With that, I left. I walked down the hall to my room, opening the door and shutting it softly behind me. I let out a breath, the stinging in my throat starting to subside as I calmed myself down. I walked slowly towards my bed and sat on it, then laid back to stare at the ceiling. "Why do I even bother..." I whispered. There was an argument going on in my head, and through all the chaos I somehow managed to fall asleep. It felt like only a couple of minutes. I sat back up and rubbed my eyes with my palm. I yawned and changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt rather than staying in my uniform. I walked out my door and down the hall, my mission being the kitchen for some water or something. The lights were all off and it was dark, aside from the white bar lights. Clint was sitting on a stool, sipping on a glass of God knows what. "Weird." I thought. "Clint's never here." It was then I noticed that it was dark out.   
"Shit, how long was I asleep?" I guess I said that part out loud. Steve was probably either asleep or down with Tony and Bruce in the lab, so there's no use in apologizing for our mini argument tonight. Might as well just go back to my room and sleep till morning. I turned, not taking a step back down the hallway before a voice rang out.

"Sit," Clint said, moving the stool out from under the bar for me to sit next to him. I grimaced but reluctantly obliged, walking and sitting down next to him. I looked at him, raising my eyebrow. "Yes?" I asked.

"You seem stressed," He said.

"No shit. I'm being held captive by a bunch of cereal hero's who have total control over whether I live or die by the press of a button," The sarcasm spat out all at once.

"Not what I meant."

I sighed, slumping my shoulders and putting my head down on the table, my arms folded under my neck to support it. The mineral that the table was made of was cold and incredibly uncomfortable, but I was too tired to care. He took one last sip of his mystery beverage, the melting ice sliding into the glass before he set it down on the counter, turning towards me. "Who are you."

I raised an eyebrow. "I am Seth," It came out more as a question than an answer.   
He rolled his eyes, "You know that's not what I meant."

I used the awkward silence to actually examine him. He looked tired and worn out. Obviously aging too quickly for how young he really is. He seemed sad, or I guess tired. Overworked, underappreciated, and overly dramatic. I relate. His bags were more defined, and a dark purple shade lingered. His eyelashes were tangled, and some were definitely missing, and the way he moved his head made it seem like he was sore, or uncomfortable in the position he was in. My theory served right as he reached up to rub his neck before he started speaking again.

"Look, kid," he started. "I get it. You don't wanna be here. You feel imprisoned and forced into this. You have people telling you it's a "blessing" that we saved you in time. I know you think it's complete bullshit, but I think we can make this easier on all of us if you just... open up a little."

He was right. Absolutely, one-hundred percent on top of what I was thinking. I stayed quiet. He sighed and nudged me with his shoulder. "Come on, Seth. I know I can't really... Relate to you as well as you'd hope, but your only other choices are a war vet, a god, and two geniuses too wrapped up in their own heads to comprehend the slightest bit of normal human speech. It's all big words and mystery potions with those two... And Natasha isn't really... around enough to get to know very well, so you're stuck with me. And if you don't want me, I could always tell Fury you need a therapist." At that, I looked up, silently begging him not to. He just snickered, "I'm kidding kid. But seriously, I've barely heard two words out of you since you've been here. All I've heard you say are rude comments towards Tony's hair or helping us out on mediocre missions. So tell me, who is Seth? 'Cuz I know you're much more than what you come across to be."

"I'm... nothing special, really," I said bluntly. "Unimportant. A case file. That's all I've ever been."

"You're important to me, Seth..." Clint smiled. "You're someone to me. I see the light in you that no one else does, and I'd love to get to know the small spark left in you. These last few months... haven't been easy on you, and I understand that. And dear god, where you a basket case before we got our hands on you. The sarcasm was absolutely insane." I chuckled a little at that, my shoulders still slumped and my head hung low. My hair was hanging over my eyes and my thumbs were fiddling with each other in my lap. His smile grew. "So It can smile...?"

I looked up at him, running a hand through my hair and stretching out my arms, yawning in the process. I laughed slightly, but it was breathless and deep because of my position. I relaxed again, my posture straightened and my complexion brightened. "Yeah, It can," I smirked, popping my fingers. "Why do you care so much? What do you even wanna know that's so important?" I asked. He looked like he was pondering for a second, and finally, I understood. Or, at least I thought I did.

"Look, Clint" He looked at me. "I-I've told you guys before, I don't know anything about the whereabouts of LOS, or Leo, or any of those people. After you guys got me I lost all contact-"

"Seth that's not what this is about," He said.

"Then what is it about? That's the only reason you guys haven't killed me yet, is because you need information, isn't it? I don't have any, so what do you want from me?"

"We don't need information, we needed a new teammate. You just happen to fit the job. Seth, we do honestly care about you. You're not a liability or a case file or whatever, you're a person. A person who's really started to mean something to this team and I need to make sure you know that before something bad happens." He laughed. He was lighthearted, I could tell. I let down my guard a bit.

"Oh, where or where do I begin..." I hesitated. "I was orphaned when I was eight because my dad freaked the fuck out and killed my mom, then was killed in jail a month or so later. I was in and out of foster care until I was twelve, and then...." I decided to skip some parts. "Leo eventually found me, they experimented on me, gave me super powers and then I became the greatest assassin to ever live before I was legally an adult." I counted my details on my fingers. "Oh, and Tony stark fucked my mom a couple times, which inevitably led to her death and my hellish life, so I hate him a little." Clint kept the same face throughout my story, his eyes dashing back and forth between mine. "Now this makes sense." He whispered.

"Okay." He said louder. "Now we're getting somewhere... At least you're talking. Now, uh, how does that make you feel?"

"So you're my therapist now?"

"The best you can get." I groaned and scooted off of my chair, not taking a step in the direction of my room before Clint grabbed my arm. He harshly pulled me back onto my stool, giving me a questioning look. "Talk to me, kid. I need to know a little bit more than your tragic backstory."

"Like what?" I asked.

He slumped, biting the inside of his cheek. "Ummmmm... well... what do you like to do for fun?"

"Murder."

"Shit never mind then.." I laughed, adjusting myself in my seat.

"No, no I'm kidding... I don't have many hobbies... I, uh, I like to read, I guess. I'm a bit of a fiction nerd,"

"Good! So you like to read. Let's start there. What's your favorite author? Or book, or genre or whatever,"

"I like a lot of James Patterson books, I guess. Rick Riordan is also a favorite. Then there's Chris Lynch, Adam Croft, Kurk Russell..." I dragged on, becoming lost in my own head. Clint was nodding with each author I named off like he actually knew who they were.

"But I guess if I had a favorite book it'd probably be Turn Of The Screw, by Henry James... and... Yeah nevermind, just that." He raised an eyebrow and pushed me to go on. I, embarrassed, told him. "I also really like Harry Potter,"

He raised his eyebrows. "Really? I wouldn't have taken you for a Potterhead." I chuckled.

We continued to talk for a few hours, time passing by like the wind. Before I knew it it was around four in the morning, but neither of us seemed to be too tired. Our conversations darted back and forth. He told me about his family, and I told him about mine. We talked about the other Avengers, about New York, about a whole bunch of stuff, until...

"So, Seth, by the looks of you I'm guessing you were a real lady killer back at camp. Any girls in your life currently? Or, uh, guys? I-I don't judge, love is love man." I laughed out loud and looked away from him down at the table.

"I'm not gay, Clint... But I'm not straight either, I guess... I-I don't really have a preference. " I cleared my throat, stretching my neck. He nodded, sipping his melted ice water.

"So no girls... or guys?" I blushed and stuttered before speaking. His eyes widened. "Oooooh I see, so you liked them, but never talked to them."

"No, not at all... She... was my best friend. She's a year younger than me, not that that matters, but she was my best friend. We started dating, and then I left, and I haven't seen her since. If I would have completed my graduation mission I would have been able to see her again, but... whatever, it's in the past."

"How long."

"What?"

"How long have you loved her for? You act differently when you talk about her. You get a whole new aura, which really only means one thing,"

I sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "....Since the moment we met." I started, chuckling at how cliche it sounded. "I mean, I just... I remember the first time we made eye contact, and how every part of me got goosebumps. I remember I just thought we were gonna end up being friends, but... I don't think I ever really realized how much she meant to me until I couldn't just walk down the hall to go see her." Clint smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently.

"You're in deep, kiddo." I snorted, looking over at him. There was a long moment of silence before I broke it again.

"Clint, I'm sorry for bringing up your wife back in Alaska. It's a distraction tactic I learned. Congratulations, by the way, on the new baby." He smiled and thanked me. "Sorry about your shoulder, too, that was kinda a dick move." He laughed and I pat me on the back, the fatherly way. He rambled for a bit on how excited he was for his third kid, and how he always wanted a big family. "Maybe you'll have more kids later? Or adopt a whole bunch or something," I smiled. 

He smiled back at me, "Maybe..." he thought. "Hey, maybe one day you can meet Laura, I think she'd really like you." I agreed, and he smiled and pulled me into a hug.

Why the fuck was I being hugged.

He eventually let go, and thanked me. We said our goodnight's, and he disappeared into the dark hallway.


	9. Chapter 8 - Reminisce

"You. Want me. To join the Avengers? Literally why..? What good could come from that?" I was dumbfounded. Why would Fury, of all people, want me to join the Avengers? What reason is there to trust me now?

"I know you think it's crazy," he started. "But you're the type of power we need here."

Thinking back, this must have been what Steve was talking about back in the file room. Talking about how "young I was" and that he "couldn't believe Fury was going through with this". This must be the "this". This was their plan from the very beginning. That's why they didn't lock down the building when I first escaped. This is why no one came after me. Come to think of it, that's probably why they gave me the injections in the first place! They weren't just to dull my powers, they were using it as a shock wave through my blood, like a universal tracker. But the question still lies, how did they know I'd even come back? It's not like they were counting on Fury to be my next target, were they?

"So... wait, hold up, you're not even the slightest bit concerned with the fact I literally tried to assassinate you? Are you just... pushing it aside? And even after that, you trust me enough to let me on your team?" He frowned.

"No, actually. I don't trust you in the slightest, but I have decided to let the attempted murder go just this one time. I know, deep, deep down, like... WAY deep," I rolled my eyes. "you're a decent human being. I also know that you were just following orders, and I can respect that. I do believe we could learn to trust each other. The Avengers, on the other hand, well... they'll just have to suck it up." I scoffed, blowing hair out of my face.

"And what if I say no?"

"You don't get a choice. Because if you say no, I'll have to kill you or lock you up for the rest of your life. This time, though, you would not escape unless I wanted you to. You know way too much. Or I could just return you to your business partners, which is basically the same as me killing you. Both sound kinda interesting if you ask me,"

"So my options are death or even more painful death?"

"Not necessarily," He was walking around me now, circling me like I was some type of pray for him.

"Right, sorry. My options consist of death, painful death, or joining the Avengers, saving the world, and making lifelong friends with five middle-aged men and a pixie bitch. Hmm... all three are definitely options I'm considering here, but I'm gonna have to go ahead and refuse your Facebook friend request, I'd rather take my chances in Hell." He stopped circling me and pulled a small remote out of his trench coat. He pressed the trigger button, sending a searing pain down my spine and through every nerve. My back arched from the table but my limbs stayed strapped down. I tried my best to hold it in, but I screamed, my throat quickly becoming hoarse. Just as quickly as it came, the pain went away. I was panting like a dog, my chin dripping with sweat and my head hung in defeat.  
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to reconsider?" He asked me. I looked straight ahead and saw Captain America staring right back at me. He slowly lowered his head and walked out of the room. I looked back at Fury. 

I spit at his feet, "Fuck. You." I growled. He shrugged his shoulders and pressed the trigger and the pain came back, this time more intense. I screamed again, my voice barely coming out.   
"I can do this alllllll day, kid. I got time." That's when I realized he never was going to give me a choice. I'm what he needs, and he'll stop at nothing to get me. He won't kill me, but I doubt he'll show me mercy, either. If he wants me so bad, I'll have to make him work for it. 

The vicious cycle of on again off again torture went on for about 3 days. Me refusing his offer, and him threatening me with more and more voltage. Eventually, though. I had to give in. I couldn't take it anymore, as weak as it sounds. I was dehydrated, starving, and in pain. After one final blast of the electric shock, I gave up. 

"STOP!" I yelled, my body shaking from exhaustion. I was sweaty and close to tears. "Stop.... stop.." I pleaded. He did as asked and finally put the remote down. He pulled up a chair in front of the table I was strapped to and sat down, the long way, though, with his chest facing the headrest.   
"Come to your senses, Hambone?" He asked. I slumped, my wrists and ankles bruised and itchy and my head reeling with a blasting ache. 

"Though saying it out loud makes me want to diarrhea all over my cute little booty-shorts, I've made the very difficult, very nauseating decision of joining your super-boyband in tights. But only since I'm already here, and I don't wanna put the strain on your poor little thumbs and make you have to press that button again... Wouldn't want you to get a cramp." I said.

"Thanks for the concern." He adjusted his jacket and let out a small huff of air, as if he regretted something, or was unsure. "Well, I thank you for your compliance. Because we're behind schedule, it'd be better to start as soon as possible. First things first, you gotta meet your team. The guards will escort you to your permanent living quarters... In Stark Towers." Four guards walked through the card activated door to escort me. I cannot believe I'm gonna be living with Stark. I'm starting to regret not choosing one of my other options. "Oh, and Seth?" He turned back to me. "Happy eighteenth birthday. Congratulations, you're an adult. Act like one and be nice to Stark for me." The guards pulled me off the table, and to my surprise, my whole body was limp, barely strong enough to walk, and completely unable to fight. They put me in handcuffs and strapped something around my neck.   
After a three or four-hour car ride across the city in the bag of a police vehicle, four giant guards in suits and sunglasses sitting around me, we finally stepped foot into Stark Tower where I was immediately met with a very friendly looking woman. She was about medium height, and had bright, friendly, welcoming eyes. She was wearing a white button up, and a grey skirt.

The inside of the building was spotless head to toe. White walls and grey marble tiles lined the floors. The walls were covered with pictures, paintings, and quotes. Beautiful statues and sculptures were scattered about, putting a very professional feel to the place. The phone began to ring, and another man emerged from the back room and picked up the call. He mumbled a few words then turned to the woman directly in front of me.

"Mrs. Pots? It's for you." He said, putting the phone out to her.

The woman, Mrs. Pots, I presumed, turned and walked towards the front desk, her heels clicking across the tiles. She put the phone to her ear and spoke a few soft words.

"Okay, I'll send him up. Love you too, bye."

Love you too? Wait... Pots... She's Stark's lady friend, isn't she? I knew I had heard her name somewhere. Pepper Pots. She dismissed the guards and they let go of my confined wrists, unlocking my handcuffs. I scratched my wrists, comforting the irritated mark the metal gave me, and the bruises left over from the straps. I looked back up at Pots, and she motioned for me to follow. We walked down a few hallways till we came to some elevators. As we entered, I noticed the panel has about 40 buttons, but she didn't press any. No guards were following us, either, which was strange.

"JARVIS?" She spoke. "Take us to headquarters."

"Yes, Mrs. Pots." Said an automated voice. The elevator started moving at a quicker pace than it should have been, making me shiver. I know what you're thinking, "you're the bad guy, kill her already." Well, my 4th-wall breaking friend, remember the remote Fury had that made me feel the shocks? Well she has one, too. I can see it in her hand. Course, I could always just kill her quickly, but I see camera's, and I can tell you for a fact that someone was watching, and I can bet you there are more than two copies of that remote.

The elevator slowed, and I heard the ding. Suddenly, I'm being ushered out of the elevator, and into a room bigger than I thought was possible. Standing there, in the middle of the floor, was Tony fucking Stark. Hands in his pocket, with a snarky little smirk on his face. I noticeably tensed.

"Welcome to the Avengers, Hotpuck,"

"Fuck off." I growled. "You have no business with me, Stark." He frowned, tipping on his heels and raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, but I believe I do... You know why? Because you tried to assassinate me. Also, Fury put me in charge of you, so." He took a sip of the scotch he had in his hand. "So, listen here Two-Bit Matthews, for the time being, you're my house guest. You'll be living in my tower, in my guest room, eating my food, and working with my team. So you're gonna have to pull your weight, Ponyboy."

"Can you at least choose an Outsider and stick with it?"

"No, I'll call you whatever I want, Sodapop, because you're my property now, so-" He took another sip. "-you're gonna be doing some chores around here,"

"And who's gonna make me?"

"I am, squirt! Because as of right now, I control your every move." He held up a small remote, one that strongly resembled Peppers and Fury's, only the button was bigger. I slumped my shoulders, looking physically droopy, knowing I had already lost. Pepper chose this time to step in.

"Come on, Tony. Give the kid a break! He's been here three minutes and you're already bombarding him with chores and rules." She said, "Plus, it's his birthday." She said the last part in a sing-songy voice. He put his glass down on a nearby table.

"You want me to give him a break? Really? Did he give me a break when he tried to murder me, Pep? No, he didn't. He's lucky I'm not making him sleep in a dog kennel." He pointed a finger at me. "Do your parents even know you're here? That you murder people? Do they even give a shit you're gone? You've been pronounced as missing for what, two weeks? Have you even called them to let them know where you are? They must be worried sick! God, it's like you don't even care!"

My glare dropped and I felt myself sink. I haven't thought about my parents in years, let alone consider how they might feel about my living. "Do you... do you even know who I am? Who I was before Rahasia?" He squinted in confusion. I took in a breath of air and looked him right in the eyes. "You knew me, and my family, and-"

"Fuck!" Came a voice. Everyone turned, including me, to see what the source of the voice was. "Language, Clint!" Was the voice that followed. Footsteps came from the down the hall, followed by a series of muted cuss words.

"Can someone get me a damn towel? Count Capula over here made me spill coffee on myself. You know, I'm getting really sick of you popping out of nowhere, Cap." Tony threw him a nearby blanket. Clint thanked him and wiped his face and chest before he finally realized who was standing in front of him. Me. "Wait... You're the little shit who messed up my shoulder!"

I rolled my eyes, "Can you guys think of any other nicknames? I mean, at least thin-mints over there is creative." He growled and pulled a small .40 out of his pouch, placing it on my forehead. Caps eyes widened, as did Peppers, but I wasn't fazed. 

"Go on, Clint, pull the trigger. Rid the world of him... Actually, do it outside, I don't like messy things, you know," He narrowed his eyes at me, glancing up at Tony.

"How did he get in here?" He asked. I placed my hand on the barrel of the gun, slowly pulling it down. 

"I'm your new house guest, cupcake," I smiled

"Enough, Clint." Captain finally spoke up. He thundered himself down the staircase and stood at my side, forcing Clint to hand him the gun. He hesitantly complied. "He's correct, he's... apart of the team now. Either deal with it or leave." He stood steady, squeezing himself in between me and him. Barton just rolled his eyes, turning, and walking back down the hallway he came from. Pepper put her hand to her ear, before walking and grabbing Tony by the arm.

"Excuse us, boys. Tony has some business to take care of... GO." She said to him, and she escorted him down a new set of stairs. I turned and looked back up at Steve. He stepped away and turned, now facing me.

It was awkward silence for a few seconds. I rocked on my heels, bubbling my lips and avoiding eye contact. He eventually stuck out his hand for me to shake, and I gratefully took it. "Welcome to the Avengers, kid. You can call me Captain, Cap, Steve, Rogers, Sir, whatever," I nodded at him.   
"Uh.. thank you, Steve. This is the biggest strand of hospitality anyone's showed me since I got here," I smiled. He let go of my hand, his face still stone.

"Don't get used to it." He turned, walking back down the hallway. "Let me show you your room." I followed after him. Midway through the hallway, he stopped, turning back to me and gripping me by my shoulders. I looked up at him, concerned. He started shaking me, whispering my name over and over again until everything started to mist. I felt everything blurring, until suddenly I was on the couch, slowly sitting up. Steve was squatting in front of me, in front of the couch. He was whispering to me, telling me I needed to wake up.

Guess I was dreaming... Dreaming a memory.

I sucked in through my nose as I sat up, rubbing my eye. I yawned, looking at him. "Did I fall asleep?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah you did. I thought everyone was in their rooms, so when I saw you here I'd just assumed you were awake. I was talking to you for a good twenty seconds before I noticed you weren't responding. Get to bed, we have a mission tomorrow." I stood up, nodding at him before turning and walking to my room.

"Night Steve." I called.

"Night, Seth."


	10. Chapter 9 - Failure

We were all spread out, earpieces linked. I was standing with Cap on the edge of a Commerce Bank, looking out over an ongoing parade. Natasha was walking along the edge of the rope-line separating the civilians from the floats, dressed in her regular civilian clothing. She looked up and made eye contact with Steve, nodding at him before disappearing into a nearby building. That was the signal everything was clear.

Weeks ago, there were bomb threats directed towards the Pride Parade in downtown New York. Seeing as this was such a large event, Fury sent us in to watch over everything and make sure everything goes okay. Nat was covert, going undercover as a civilian and making rounds around the perimeter, watching silently for any suspicious characters. Tony was flying overhead, Barton was on a different roof a few miles away, and the big guy was waiting back at headquarters watching from security cameras. I let out a yawn, sitting down on the building with my legs hanging over the edge. Steve slumped down next to me.  
"Hero gigs not as exciting as you thought it was going to be, is it?"

"Not really." I chuckled, leaning back with my hands supporting behind me. He put his shield down.  
"Sometimes it's better to just... sit back, and watch. Observing is a large part of protecting, Seth. It's boring, but it pays off." I sighed, looking out into the crowd below. I looked over at Steve. His eyes were just darting back and forth around the parade. I clamped down on my jaw, letting out a loud breath. "Steve I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked. I shook my head, "For being... such a... liability. Also for what I said back in the file room when I first escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. About... Peggy. I'm just letting you know that you don't have to babysit me. As long as this collar's around my neck, I'm not trying anything." I slumped. He nodded his head in understanding. 

"So what are you gonna do when we take it off?" My neck reeled back to him, confused. My eyes darted between his, and he smiled. "Did you honestly think we'd keep it on you forever? This team is about trust, so how are you supposed to trust us if we can't show that we trust you?" I smiled at him.  
"So... You do trust me?" I asked, sitting up a little straighter. "Like... All of you?"

He hesitated, letting out a deep sigh. "Look, Seth-"  
"You don't have to say anything... I get it. I did some bad stuff, and now I'm paying for it."

"No, Seth, it's not like that. I trust you, I do. Honestly. I know Clint trusts you, so do Tasha and Bruce... But... Tony, on the other hand, is still-"

Boom. Then there was screaming. Me and Steve cut our conversation short and stood up, sharing a look before jumping down. He just jumped straight off the building and charged into action. I, on the other hand, had to take some shortcuts, jumping over to other buildings and then sliding down a fire escape latter to get to the ground level. Natasha and Clint took over the job of getting everyone out of the area, while Tony went into the danger zones to fetch the injured. I could already hear the sirens coming, and the police soon pulled up to assist people. Steve and I split up in search for the source of the explosion. He went down the opposite street, and I searched around all the buildings. I was in my new uniform that they supplied me. It had the same material as Steve's, but it was all black, with some red vertical stripes around the waist just below my chest pad and above my tool belt. I had on soft boots that kept my footsteps quiet, not that I really needed them.  
In my belt were my katanas, a few throwing stars, and a staff. The staff was just a long, metal pole. I made my way down an alley, trying my best to focus on my surroundings. Suddenly, I heard something. I looked around just in time to see a man dart out of a nearby building and start sprinting down the street. He looked out of place, and he didn't seem panicked like the other patrons. Everyone was running towards the police and out of the action zone, where he was running away from any help. I started sprinting after him and yelling into my earpiece, informing the rest of the team that I was in pursuit. I chased the guy for quite some time, dipping and dodging past dumpsters and cars. Eventually he made his way back to the main streets, running through traffic and almost causing a few car accidents. My breathing was starting to become heavy, and my legs burned. I pushed through and was close to tackling the guy to the ground until he grabbed a nearby bystander and put a knife to her throat. She started screaming her head off, crying. He yelled at me to stop, threatening to kill her.  
I pulled out a pistol that was hidden in my boot, aiming directly at the guy's head. Other people screamed and ran in different directions. "If you shoot, I'll kill her! I'll fucking kill her!" I didn't doubt it, but I didn't lower my gun.  
"You don't have to do this!" I said. "Just... drop the knife and come with me, and we can get all of this resolved." He growled at me, tightening his grip on the woman. For obvious reasons he didn't believe me. This was new to me. Up until that point, people have always tried to negotiate with me, not the other way around.  
"I'll kill her, I'll slit her throat god dammit- Drop the gun!" I didn't drop the gun. He repeated his order multiple times. I used this time to study him a bit. He was in jeans and a hoodie, a beanie covering his bald head. He looked to be about thirty... I don't know how he ran that far for so fast. Must be trained, so he's working for someone. He was panicking and sweaty.

Not good.

Finally, I saw my opening. He sidestepped, leaving his foot wide open for me to target. I shot, and he screamed in pain but didn't drop the knife like I had anticipated. Instead, he just dragged the knife hard against the woman's throat. She collapsed, and the man made eye contact with me, putting the knife to his own throat. I had a shocked expression on my face, my hands shaking slightly. A wave of grief and emotion came over me, but anger serged. I raised my gun again and shot him directly in the forehead. I heard the others gaining ground, and eventually, I was being pulled backward, the gun being taken out of my hands and thrown elsewhere. I looked up, seeing cops surrounding me, and yelling at me to put my gun down. I dropped it and slid it over to the officers, my arms above my head and my knees hitting the ground. Five or six police officers had their guns pointed at me, and they were all yelling. One of them handcuffed me and had my face pressed against the ground. I heard more footsteps, and before I knew it both Natasha and Clint were by my side, negotiating with the officers. Eventually, Captain skidded to a stop and did a better job of negotiating with the officers. His familiar face being more comforting and easier for them to understand. He somehow convinced them to let me go, all the while I was still shellshocked over what had just happened. I can't believe I shot him. Why did I do that? How could I let something so simple get the better of me?  
While Steve was talking to the Sheriff at the scene, he kept looking over at me. He looked disappointed, and angry. He stepped away, over to me and started speaking. I couldn't make out the words... It all sounded mumbled, and distant. Eventually, the police moved out to help ship the victims of the bomb blast to the hospital and helping lost people find their families. They paid no attention to us. We had failed. 

Paramedics were kneeling by the bodies of the man and the innocent woman, checking pulses. Obviously, they didn't find one. They put the bodies in body bags then on stretchers and shipped them off. Tony eventually joined us, Hawkeye informing him of the situation. He looked at me from where he was standing and immediately he grew angry.  
Steve noticed, too, and turned me, pushing me away from the scene and into a nearby ally way, where the others joined us. "You fucking idiot!" Tony started, his helmet was up. "Did you honestly think that was a good idea? Huh? Well congratulations, you got two people killed, along with the other bodies we've been pulling out of the fire. Honestly, you could not have made this situation any worse for us,"  
"I made a mistake, I know! I'm fully aware of how stupid I did was!" I yelled back, "I tried to help her, I did exactly what I was supposed to do, and it failed. He killed her anyway. There was nothing more I could have done."  
"He's right Ton-"

He cut Steve off. "-No! Stop sticking up for him! Stop with the excuses! What are you, his mother? Jesus Christ Rogers, if anything I'd of thought that you'd be the one to punish him."

"He will be punished, just not right now. We have bigger things to deal with right now."

"Fuck you, Steve, he just killed two people, he needs to know his place," It was then that Clint decided to step in.  
"Tony I don't like where this is going." He started. "Put the remote down."  
That's when I realized what was in his left hand. It was the small remote, not much bigger than an iPhone, with a few buttons on it. He must have modified it because the last time I saw it only had one button, my kill switch. He looked down at his hand and then back up at me, before pressing down hard on a button in the bottom center of the remote. I immediately felt a large shock ring throughout my body, pulsing and making my tongue stick to the top of my mouth. It didn't feel like it was coming from the collar, but from inside and throughout my whole body. I managed to let out a loud scream, my eyes squeezing shut long before I dropped to my knees. I heard yelling around me, then a clatter, then more yelling. The shocks just grew, and the pain became more and more apparent. I opened my eyes, my voice hoarse from screaming only to find Tony being held down by Steve, and the broken remote on the ground. Clint was behind me, trying to find a way to turn off the collar which was most likely sending the shocks through my brain, but every time he touched it he quickly pulled his hand back like he was being shocked too.  
I heard my heartbeat through my ears, and my vision started to darken at the rims, and my breathing slowed, as did my heartbeat. I just started making whining noises, until suddenly everything went blank.

I woke up what felt like minutes later. I was alone in my room, shirtless. There was a damp towel over my head, and a few burn marks all over my body. I watched as my veins worked as a vibrant shade of blue, and moved throughout my body-- healing. I sat up, removing the towels from my head and sitting up slowly. I put my feet on the cold ground, and wiggled my toes, adjusting to the new pressure. Standing was a struggle for awhile, but eventually, I got my strength together and walked over to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, seeing the bags under my eyes and the bruises all around my neck. That's when I realized I could see my neck. The collar was gone. I rubbed the area around my neck, and then I threw my hand through my hair. It was greasy and unwashed. I could smell myself, and it didn't smell too good. Like I hadn't washed in weeks. I closed my eyes and grunted to loosen the tightness in my throat. I stripped and turned the water on in the large shower. I could barely lift my arms, and everything was stiff, so it just sat down and let the water run over me. No soap, no shampoo, no conditioner was used (mostly for the fact there was none in there, but also I was too lazy to even attempt scrubbing). I shook my head, trying to remember through the fog in my mind. It all came back to me: the mission, the bomb, the gunshots, and the bodies. I remembered the remote and the yelling around me before everything went black. I turned the water off and didn't even bother grabbing a towel. I just stepped out of the glass shower door and sat right on the ground in the main bedroom. I laid on the ground and let my body air dry. After about an hour of just staring and thinking, my stomach vocalized itself to tell me I was hungry... Starving, actually, which wasn't too rare. I grabbed a pair of plain grey sweats from the ground and an old t-shirt.  
I walked down the hallway and out to the living room, where everyone was up to something, except Tony and Bruce were nowhere to be seen. Clint was talking with Thor at the bar, and Steve was on the computer on the couch, typing away at something. Strange, Thor's never here... The only person I ever regularly see is Steve. I looked out the window, and New York was as busy as ever. It was still daytime, so it couldn't have been long since the mission. Thor looked up at me, immediately dropping the poptart he had in hand and walking over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders and checking all over my body. 

"Are you feeling alright? Any side effects? How are your burns? Do you need ice?" He was worried.

"-Thor, I'm fine... What happened? I don't remember anything after blacking out?" Clint and Steve had abandoned their posts and made their way over to me. Steve ran through what happened after I blacked out, talking about how they brought me back here, and how they didn't really have to do anything medical because my body was doing it for them. I nodded, understanding what was going on.  
"I'm... sorry for what I did back during the mission, I was being stupid and I didn't think before I acted an-" He cut me off by placing a hand on my shoulder. I stopped rambling and nodded my head. His hands were completely healed. Weird, before I passed out they had burn marks all over them from the collar... He must be a hell of a healer. Unless...

"How long was I out for?" I asked, and they looked at each other. Clint hesitated, guiding me over to the couch before taking a deep breath.  
"The festival was in June, Seth... That mission was six weeks ago... It's September." I narrowed my eyes, confused.  
"What do you mean it's September?" I asked.  
"I mean you've been in a coma, Seth. Not much has changed, but we were worried you actually were gonna die... Fury advised us not to give you an IV, saying it would just slow down your body's natural healing process. If you were completely human, you would have died, or been in a coma for the rest of your life. Thank God for your powers." Clint seemed relieved, and I just seemed stressed.  
"So... Tony put me in a coma?" I asked, and they all paused to look at each other. I got the hint and nodded. Thor put a hand on my shoulder.  
"He was guilty, Seth, truly. He was the one to bring you the supplies you needed to heal... I bet he'll be relieved to see you awake."  
The slide doors opened, revealing Tony, wiping his hands off with an old rag. "Relieved is an understatement Ponyboy... " He started, stepping down the stairs. "Fury would have had my head if I would have killed you. Especially 'cuz that collar costs a fortune. Speaking of which, I repaired it-- just for you buddy boy. Well, kinda. I had to restart building it, and it's not really a collar anymore, it's more like a wrist watch. Now you wont stretch out your shirts, and we still have control over you if you decide you wanna shoot some more people." I glared and looked back over at the three other men.  
Tony continued to smirk on, walking over and putting his hand on my shoulder. "You have a therapy session with Pepper tomorrow morning. Be ready."


	11. Chapter 10 - Comfort

"Seth you have to understand that what happened wasn't your fault. You did what you were told, and sometimes things just... don't go as plan-"

"But I do understand, that's just it," I said. Currently, Pepper and I were sitting in a room that looked more like a police interrogation room than anything else. I would know, I've been in several. This isn't our first session. After the incident, or "mission gone wrong" as she calls it, I've been scheduled with her every week. It's been about a month since then. I've been having nightmares, sleep paralysis and a fair amount of anxiety. I guess I took what happened to heart. I just can't seem to get it out of my head. She kept trying to comfort me, and make it seem like what I did wasn't my fault. What she's failing to grasp is that even if the death or that woman was justified, I still shot that man. "I understand I should have made a better decision while pursuing, it was a rookie move. I get it. Two people are dead because of me. I understand it wasn't my fault that that women died, and I also understand that I was the reason she was killed. She died because of him, but I killed her. I killed him, also, and Tony almost killed me. I get it, I'm used to it. It's just a roundabout of guilt that has no exit. Steve's tried explaining it to me before that even the good guys make mistakes. The thing is I'm not a good guy. I'm not even a decent guy and that's why I'm here." I slouched back in my chair, serving her a look of defeat. Physically and emotionally, I'm exhausted. My body still aches from time to time, and my mind is just... empty. I'm tired I need a nap and a maybe Redbull.

Pepper didn't seem satisfied. She took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter in her chair. She rubbed her eyes and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. Adjusting her skirt, she crossed her legs again and looked me up and down. "Seth. I know all of this, the therapy I mean, doesn't seem... like the right approach. I know you feel like you're past all this, that you don't need the help, but I promise in the end all of this will have a positive effect. I can see you're struggling, Seth. With everything you've gone through, and then being forced to adjust to something so incredibly foreign. Above all else, you're still a teenager, Seth. Your body is struggling to have it's natural growth and development because of the immense amount of stress you're being forced to undertake. 

"You may not see it, but we all do. You're tired. You're depressed, and you need an escape whether you recognize it or not. I know it seems we're forcing you into this, but even someone as unobservant as Tony has noticed your change in behavior. All we're trying to do is help, Seth. I promise you, in the end, it will all be worth it. So, to end the session, I'm going to ask you a simple question then I will let you go. We'll have another meeting next week, same time, same place, and then... we can do something fun. Outside the box, to make you feel more comfortable in what as of now is your home."

So now I have visual depression. Great. Another thing for my teammates to add onto the list of why I'm an unstable mess. I noticed over the past couple of weeks that they seem to be getting... more gentle with me. Besides Tony, of course, he's been the same amount of dickish as usual. But Clint has been making more attempts to talk to me, Steve's always checking on me... now it's starting to make sense. The patterns of everything. What they trust me with and what they don't, the constant pick-me-ups...

 

....They think I'm gonna try and kill myself. 

 

All aside, I agreed to let Pepper ask her questions. 

She began. "On a touchier subject-"I tensed, knowing where this was headed. "After your mother passed, and you were taken in by the clan... what... did they do to you in training that... You, personally believe-"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, lifting my stature and becoming more dominant in my appearance. Kind of a physical way of letting her know to cut the crap. "Stop being gentle." I growled, "I'm not a toddler. Just ask me what you want to know, and I'll decide how I want to answer."

"I wanna know the skin detail. After everything you lost or unfortunately gained, what did they do that broke you down enough to force you to become what you became? How was 'Rahasia' formed under who Seth Mason was?" 

Then there was silence. They did a lot of things to me when I first arrived. They broke down my psyche, took apart my mind piece by piece, so they could glue me back as their image. They taught me to hate myself. Not like the basic, " I hate my body" kind of way, the way that made to absolutely despise everything you were. Anything I felt an attraction to or enjoyed was stripped of me like clothing. They made me inhuman... I didn't feel, I couldn't think for myself, and once I hit complete bottom they began to build me back as the soldier they needed. A bionic bimbo capable of whatever they needed. That's how it starts. I was told later on that 60% of recruits committed suicide within the first six months of "the strip" - is what they call it. Apparently, at one point I tried but was to mentally exhaust to actually go through with it. Then physically, there was the torture. The intense training, the agility workouts, literally anything you could think of. They worked us like slaves, the balance between the rations of food we received and the workload they pilled onto us was close to being like a Nazi death camp. The harder we worked, the more they fed us. Then, once we were completely at their will, they trained us to be deadly. There are no other words to describe it other than they were making us like the Winter Soldiers. Luckily, I made it through. Leo didn't follow the other master's ways. He helped bring back a little bit of Seth. He saved my sense of humor, some of my personality from before the torture, but he never really brought me back. Shady helped a great deal, actually. I became me again... Just with exceptions. Leo believed that I became the best because of how much more human I was than the rest. He claimed it helped me blend better, which brought more success in the undercover missions. I learned to smile again, learned to act natural, along with being a ninja. But, the mental excursion and harsh treatment weren't what broke me either. Really, I don't know how they broke me. I don't remember my breaking point. I just remember... fading. I realized I'd been sitting and staring for a solid six minutes. Pepper was waiting patiently, barely blinking, watching my body language, which was stale.

"...I don't know..."

She nodded. "Would you care to explain?"

"You said one more question. You already asked one, and I answered honestly. I don't know what they did to me that made me this way, other than the obvious. Mentally, they cracked us. Made us soldiers... Physically, the training was draining. But.. you're wrong. I broke myself. I may not remember the happening of it all, or even really the after effect, but I did it myself. No one but myself is to blame for who Rahasia is. He's apart of me because I let him stay attached to my persona. They didn't force me to do what I did, none of what they did to me made me kill people. Nothing they told me to do slaughtered hundreds of... not-so-innocent lives. They gave me my missions, yes, but I chose to finish them and survive to do another. I made my own choices under who I chose to follow and let lead and build me. Sure, they threatened us, threatened me with the life of the girl I fell in love with, but I chose to believe what they said to me. I chose to kill. I chose to complete my missions. I pushed myself, and I became my reputation. No one forced me to become one of the greatest assassins known to mankind, no one forced me to become a legend before I was 16. They didn't make me do anything. The only person who controlled me... was myself. And that's why I'm so dangerous." 

Peppers aura completely changed. She seemed nervous now, kinda uncomfortable. I sat, staring at her from across the table, my blank expression then lightened, my wrists that were resting against the table fell back into my lap, where I fidgeted with my thumb. "Relax, Pep. I wouldn't dream of harming you, or anyone in this facility. You're safe and sound." She didn't seem convinced. I sighed. "I cross my heart and hope to die, you're safe. I'm just... a little crazy. But, trust me, you certainly don't have to pretend anymore. I get it. You're scared of me. I can understand why, but you don't have to pretend to be fearless. You just have to make a deal with me. I'll make an effort to... better my aroma if you attempt to trust me. Deal?" She seemed to relax a bit, and she smiled. 

"You're very observant. I believe you, I know you're not as... edgy as you come off as. I've seen you be a teenager....You're a good kid, Seth. You really are a kind young man. So yes, I'll take your deal. I'll attempt to trust you with myself a little bit more if you put forth the effort to help yourself as well," I looked up into the glass that was behind her. To anyone who didn't know, it would seem like a plain glass wall. But I know better. I waved at it, fully aware of the presence on the other side, who I felt the eyes of for the hour I was sitting in that chair. "Deal. But only if Cap agrees to stop ogling me from behind glass doors," I chuckled. "Honestly, if you guys were just honest with me, these would go a lot quicker." The once black glass morphed, becoming clear from both ends. 

"How'd you know?"

"Practice."


	12. Chapter 11 - Practice Makes Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm high-key switching up the course of some of the movies so don't even bother trying to fit this bitch in a timeline. 
> 
> *This chapter takes place a couple months after the last one*

Breathe. Hold. Release. Repeat. Breathe. Hold. Release. Repeat.

Calm.

I've recently been getting into meditation. Trapping my mind and breathing has been helping tremendously with my focus, and my ability to control my powers. When my focus get's calm, my body manually starts to conduct my wavelengths, lifting me off the ground a couple feet and allowing me to be at peace. I've been told I look like a monk when I do it, but it's worth being able to protect myself and my teammates.

Wow, teammates, that's a new word.

I've been living with the team for close to 18 months now. I'm in and out on missions, I've met new people, and I've really started working on anger management. It's harder to get me riled up now, which is less fun for Tony, but it feels nice not being so steamed all the time. Recently, Clint hasn't been around as much. He's only here when we really need him, and when there's a party or gathering of some kind. Other than that he's with his family. Which is good, he needs a little family in his life.   
Thor is basically gone. No one's really heard from him in a while, last I heard he was still mourning Loki, which was strange, to say the least. I don't quite understand the story... Bruce is gone, too. We don't actually know where he went. S.H.I.E.L.D has been searching, but... no luck. Tony and Pepper have started working a little harder on their relationship and moved into their own sector of the tower. I, on the other hand, completely moved out. I currently live in a S.H.I.E.L.D base or the new Avengers HQ.

Oh, yeah, by the way? I'm officially an Avenger now. No watch, no collar, and no security cameras in my room. After the battle with Ultron, a technological terror hell-bent on human extinction, we welcomed multiple new members of the team. Wanda, Vision, Sam, etc., and no one really saw me as the "troubled kid" anymore. I'm no one's charity case, no one's bad decision, I'm just me. I'm Seth. I'm an Avenger, and I have a new name. Instead of Rahasia, which they refused to call me for obvious reasons, they call me Blue. Plain and simple. Just Blue.   
Nothing new has really happened. Cap and Tony are always at each other's throats - no surprise there - and we haven't had any new missions. Nat and I are sometimes sent out on covert informational missions, but other than that we just watch and observe. 

Breathe. Hold. Release. Repeat. Relax... Relax... Rel-BAM.

I fell. My concentration was distracted by the sound of fighting. With my lack of meditation came the lack of control and the levitational energy slab that was holding me up disappeared. Now I'm on the ground, on my back, confused. The sound was coming from the training area. Bangs and grunts; I moved forward towards it, on alert. I put my handprint up against the scanner and it let me in, the grunts then got louder with Nat and Cap coming into view. They were fighting, training obviously. Dodging, ducking, dipping, and diving away from each other's attacks. Cap was sloppy and assertive, his broad and wide body made it harder for him to move, but it certainly made his hits stronger. Natasha was graceful with her attacks. Her mind was working and every lunge, every swat, kick, punch, jab, roundhouse throat kick was planned and precise. It was incredibly obvious she was trained in stealth and grace, like a ninja, but Cap was... a soldier.   
I stood and watched. They had chemistry. Not romantic in any way, but they're familiar with each other, like siblings. They're family, whether they consider it themselves or not. The bickering in between swings and dodges made it obvious. I stood against the wall and observed, one foot on the wall and my arms crossed like an edgy teen. Eventually, Nat was able to pin Steve like a damn thumbtack, and the spar was over. I clapped, slowly and dramatically, and watched them both turn, recognizing my presence.   
"How long have you been here?" Cap asked. 

"Long enough to hear Nat call you "Tinky Winky" and then introduce you to the floor," I laughed. Cap grimaced and rubbed his shoulder, "You need to work on your balance, it was throwing you off and making you look sloppy. That's why Nat got so many hits in on you. If she had your strength you'd be dead." I walked towards him, getting closer to have a solid conversation. He gave me a look.

"You talk a lot, kid. How do I know you know what you're talking about?" I looked over at Nat and she stepped back. I told him to get into a fighting stance. 

"Punch me." He looked shocked and relaxed his stance. He told me he wouldn't do it. "Punch me. Hard." I pleaded. I put my hands at my side and raised my eyebrow. He looked at Natasha and she shrugged, and then he looked back at me. He took a breath and swung. I grabbed his wrist, dodging him, and I flipped him over my shoulder and body checked him to the floor. He groaned, standing back up.   
"Balance. You're sloppy." I smirked and stepped back. Cap stretched his neck, shrugging and getting back into a fighting stance. "Well if you're so balanced, lets spar."

"Bet."

I didn't get into any sort of position, but Cap did. He swung at me and I grabbed his wrist and dropped, sliding under his legs and bring him with me, flipping him on his back. I wrapped my legs around his neck and pulled on his arm. "BALANCE DAMMIT," I yelled and released him, flipping onto my knees and standing up. He stayed on the ground for a bit, before slowly climbing to his feet. Natasha stepped up,  
"Alright, my turn," She smiled. She stood up and got into position, Steve moving out of the way. She put her fists up and I put mine up too. She charged first, attempting to punch me, but I blocked with my wrist. She used her other hand to reach around and hit me in the temple. I jumped out of the way, rolling back to my feet and charging back at her, sliding under her and grabbing her by the ankle, attempting to bring her to the ground. Instead, she attempted to kick me, but I hit the back of her leg and forced her to her knees. I wrapped my arm around her in a headlock, one foot on her calf and the other balancing me. She used her elbow and kneed me in the ribs, sliding away. I dodged her next attack and grabbed her by the neck, pinning her to the ground, ending the fight. The whole match took about 30 seconds. Steve had his bottom lip pushed out, his eyebrows raised. He was impressed, but Natasha was surprised. Guess no one's ever beat her in a fight before.   
I let up, and Steve pat me on the back. He congratulated me. I smoothed out my uniform and stuck out my hand to let Natasha up.  
After a quick conversation about mistakes and improvements we could make, Natasha left to go get something to eat, which left me and Steve to our own devices. He squeezed my shoulder. "What are your plans for the day?" He asked.   
I sat back, "Fury wants to do a mental evaluation later tonight, but until then I'm free... Why?" I asked. He smiled.  
"Wanna go get lunch? I'm friends with the lady who owns the dinner a couple blocks away, we'll get a discount." I agreed. I went to change into regular civilian clothes rather than the uniform I was wearing before. We set off at about 4:30, and walked there in comfortable silence. We walked inside and sat at the barstools, a couple civilians turning and smiling at us, a couple others grimacing. I ordered a basket of fries, and he ordered a burger. We kept mild conversation; how's the day going, you working on anything new, hows the anger management, etc. About midway through our "meals", two girls, maybe 17 or 18, came up to my side of the bar and sat next to me. I ignored them and stared at my fries, every once in a while I would take one. I continued my conversation with Cap, paying no mind to the blonde to my left. She tapped my shoulder.   
"Can I have one?" she asked, reaching forward to take one. I didn't respond, but I looked over at her just in time to see her take one of my fries and eat it. I looked at her blankly. She giggled, finishing her fry and smiling at me. She put her hand on my arm, asking for my name.

"Seth.." I said, reaching out my hand for her to shake. She took it, telling me her name was Ashlynn. I said it was nice to meet her.

"Do you wanna... maybe come with me and my friend to the beach this weekend? We're taking a road trip down to SeaSide, it'll be fun." I raised an eyebrow at her. This girl was surely beautiful. Brown eyes, freckles, long braided blonde hair. It was the first time I acknowledged her friend. She told me her name was Eren. I smiled and waved at her.   
"I'm sorry but, I have no idea who you are, so I'll have to decline," I said. She rolled her eyes.   
"Okay, maybe a road trip is a little much for a first date," she commented. Date? "So how about a movie, or dinner?" I blank-faced her again.  
"No thanks?" I chuckled, trying to turn back to Cap, who was watching, amused. She turned me back in my chair.   
"Come on... at least give me a chance?" 

I was getting aggravated. "Please leave me alone." She was persistent. "Ashlynn, no, I'm uninterested. I'm not gonna go anywhere with you." I turned back away from her, and she scoffed almost like offended her.   
Ok. I'm over it. "I'm gay and uninterested. Please leave me alone." I said. She hopped off the chair and left the dinner with her friend, both of them looking frustrated. I shook my head and turned back to Cap, who looked surprised at me. His burger was left uneaten on his tray, and my fries were cold. "What?" I asked. He snapped out of his shock and returned to his burger.

"Nothing, I just... I didn't know you were... You know..." I laughed and ate another fry. 

"I'm not. Well, I'm bisexual... Is that a problem?" He smiled and put a hand on my shoulder.   
"Not at all, I was just kinda surprised by how quickly you turned those girls down... They seemed like your type."  
I shrugged. "I don't have a type... Maybe like... I don't know.. Dark brown hair. I like green eyes. Freckles... I-I don't know, I'm not really big on dating. I've never been too good at it."   
He smiled, "There's a girl, isn't there?"

"Clint tell you?" He shook his head. He asked me her name. "Reina, but everyone called her Shady... I called her Slim." He didn't get the reference. "She was with me in the League. She was a year or so younger. She was the only one there that wasn't afraid of me. I was supposed to see her again before I graduated, but you guys got to me first, so I haven't seen her in a year or so. She should be graduating soon." Cap swallowed the rest of his burger and stood, paying for our food.   
"Tell me more about this girl... You seem different when you talk about her." We stood and walked out of the dinner and made our way down the street. I went on to tell him about how we met, and our relationship prior to me leaving, the guy in the cafeteria, and the last day we had with each other... Minus some obvious details.   
"She was so sweet to me. She was the only person I had in my life that actually cared about me. It's not just the fact that she was my girlfriend, but she was really special to me. I was so used to people leaving me. My mother dying, the few friends I made were killed, now instead of her leaving me behind I left her. She thinks I'm dead," I said. My hands were in the pockets of my sweatshirt, and we were walking step by step down the street. Cap didn't interrupt once, always letting me finish before I asked any questions. He smiled at me and pat me on the back.

"I had a girl like that too, once." I knew immediately who he was talking about. "Ms. Peggy Carter..." He lit up, his mind rushing with memories. I could feel the vibe coming off of him. "She's still alive, actually. Lives in Brooklyn still, in a home. I visit her every once in a while. She was a powerful woman. Took nothing from nobody, not even me. She could have stopped a hurricane with a look. I wish you could have met her back in the day when she was up and moving, and a total badass-" language. "Of course today she's still a hell of a gal, just... not as momentous. She's getting older, isn't moving as much, and her memory is starting to go a bit. I could have the same conversation with her ten times over and still love every second of it." He continued to ramble, his whole persona lighting up like it's Christmas. He was completely in love with this woman. I wonder if this is what Clint meant when he said I looked different when I talked about Shady, 'cuz Cap sure looks different when he talks about Ms. Peggy.

The conversation continued on, and we made our way back to the tower. I was surprised to come face to face with director Fury and a couple other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Tony and Pepper were there with them, along with Clint, Falcon, Wanda, and Nat. I halted and crossed my arms over my chest. On the table in front of them was a suitcase, files open inside. Fury smirked at me and welcomed me and Cap over.   
"What's the issue?" Cap questioned, picking up one of the files.

"Loki's come back. We have him in captivity."

Oh shit.  
__________________________________  
Ashlynn POV

I lead the way inside a danky abandoned 7/11, my heels clicking below me and Kora - or Eren I guess is her coverage - following closely behind. We went towards the back and into a storage closet, which opened into an elevator shaft. We went down the elevator into a large steel room. I clicked a button on my wristwatch and changed my appearance back to its original form. I pulled my brown hair into a ponytail, my once brown eyes turning green. I clicked the earpiece, calling my master on the holo-computer. His pixelated face popped into the screen. He asked me what progress I had made.   
"Your suspicions were correct, he's with the Avengers, we don't have long to take him out," I said. Master nodded,   
"Good work today, Reina. I will start planning your graduation mission tonight. Happy 18th birthday... Good luck." He signed off.

Dammit, Seth... why'd you have to go and be a hero?


	13. Chapter 12 - Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter sucks I have zero motivation

Long story short, my curiosity got the better of me.

I waited until It was late to start my snooping. I made my way down a long, broadly like hallway which had the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo plastered on the wall every couple meters. The hallway looked old; the lights hung from the ceiling in cages, and there was an intense smell of cleaning products. It was quiet other than the sound of my footsteps.  
Most of the team had already left the building. Falcon and Steve left right after Fury and the shield agents. Stark was called away by Happy and the others were left to their own devices. We all mutually decided not to tell Thor of his brother's arrival. One because no one could get in contact with him, and also because Loki was still a threat, and there was the risk of Thor losing him again if he decided to take him back to Asgard.  
Straight ahead was an electrical, two-door sliding steel wall with, of course, The Shield symbol on it. I put my hand up to a small scanner next to the door, and immediately it denied me. I creased my brow line in confusion.

"...The Hell?" I mumbled. I pulled up my halo computer on my glove and typed furiously, looking for a way to bypass the security. After close to a minute of hacking, a quiet bell "dung" and the electrical door slid open to a large, futuristic-looking room. Plain metal walls, computers, and in the middle was a large, glass cell All highly advanced machinery. Damn, and they put my ass in a chicken coop.  
Inside was a man. Long green and black robes, greasy black hair and green eyes. The green eyes were staring directly at me. I walked into the large room and stood in front of the cell.  
"Which one are you? I can't say I recall you from my previous... Endeavors with the Avengers," He said. Holy shit he's sexy. I smiled and crossed my arms.  
"You don't need to know my name... I just came to say hello." His lip curled into a to a half smile, and he narrowed his eyes at me.  
"The pleasure's all mine," he said. There was a malice sense about this man. Uncomfortable yet so familiar. He is most definitely a master manipulator and true God of Mischief. His eyes were so goddamn intriguing, and I couldn't put my finger on the story behind them. He's been hurt, stripped of something. I don't know when it happened, but at some point, his games of trouble and fun somehow became twisted in a desperate search for approval. He's drained... Exhausted.  
"You're young... Younger than the others. You're naive and-"

"Handsome?" I snarked, blinking my pretty boy eyes in him. His expression didn't change.  
" I was more in favor of presumptuous because, if I'm not mistaken, I'm sure I heard the Archer forbid you from my presence... Or are you disobeying your Guardians rules so soon?"

I shrugged my shoulders, agreeing with him. "Presumptuous is a two nickel wording my friend, I'd hate to play a game of Scrabble with you." I laughed, sliding my fingers around the belt loop of my uniform.  
"I presume he told you I was dangerous, no?" I nodded. "He's absolutely right. You really should have listened to him." I rolled my eyes, making sure he knew I wasn't afraid of him. He began walking around in behind of the glass, almost mocking me. Clint was right, he was trying to trick me. He's trying to get me on his side...or maybe he's not. Maybe he's just looking for a good conversation. He understood my facial expressions, and he knew very well I was just down here because I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. I let out an exasperated sigh,  
"Loki, we need to get one thing straight. I'm not afraid of you. I'm not trying to get information. I'm simply here out of pure curiosity. Everyone seems to think you're some ravenous, deranged serial killer, but before a couple of months ago that's what everyone thought of me, too. Look, I get it. I understand why you're so... Enraged by everything. Everyone treats you like a criminal... Hell, you're locked in the fucking Hulk cage for God sake. Who knows what they've done to you. What your own people have done to you," His eyes followed me, though I was barely moving. He was looking straight at me. His eyes darted back and forth between my two. He really didn't understand why I was here. I didn't even understand why I was here.  
Not to be cliche or anything, but I and Loki have a sort of connection. Something I can't quite describe. I completely understand that he's a murderer, and I understand why nobody wants to trust him. They are afraid. They're afraid of him like they were of me.  
"You know, similar to your situation, my parents weren't anything to be super enthused about. Mom was a cheater; dad was overworked and angry. I was the accident child, nothing more than something to save the marriage. My mom had an affair when I was eight, and my dad lost his mind. I didn't have any siblings, and I didn't have many friends either. I was a murderer at a young age. Unlike you, I wasn't very mischievous, but I was a little prick. I had got carried away with the wrong group of people and became a world-renowned mercenary before I was legally an adult. Nothing to be proud of, but always something to be afraid of.  
"I don't know why I'm telling you this, maybe it's just because I know that if you do get out of this cage that you're never going to have a sit-down conversation with anybody that I know personally so I'm just going to go right out and say it. I'm afraid of myself. I'm afraid that maybe one day I'm going to snap and I'm going to do something I regret and I will be right back at square one. I'm like you in a lot of ways, always wanting to make someone proud but not really knowing who or why. I'm sure you can understand that, right?"  
He rolled his tongue over his bottom lip before you begin speaking back to me. "Child, I have no doubt in my mind that you've come to me for no reason other than out of blatant curiosity, but I am no counselor. I don't care about your problems, and I don't care about your feelings or the typhoon that is your sick little mind. You are correct in one sense though, we are connected. Whether you like to believe it or not we share many of the same traits. Both abandoned, both misunderstood, and most importantly neither of us are afraid to kill. I don't know you personally, nor do I wish to ever, but I simply put understand that as much as you tell yourself you wouldn't, you would not hesitate to take another life under the correct circumstances. I know you remember the first person that you ever killed. The feeling of the blood rushing through your fingers and hearing your heartbeat in your ears. You remember it all too well. Though, at the time, it was something disdained and traumatize. Now realize it was the beginning of something great. The beginning of my own Empire and what I knew I needed to become. My father never believed in me. I was adopted. Unloved and lied to my entire life. The only person that ever truly understood me was my mother.  
"Frigga, my mother, was a woman like no other. Though not my birth giver, she treated me like her true son. I had a connection with her that no one can truly understand, not even my beloved brother. I loved her. She taught me my magic. She understood me and she wasn't afraid of me, and she knew the power that I withheld. She knew what I would become. If only she could have lived to see the light that shone upon me when the sun rose above my time. I can feel it in you. I don't know your name, nor do I care to learn it, I feel as though you are longing for someone. Whether it be a lover you left behind, or your lost mother I will not know. Your mother was killed, no? Out of cold blood and hatred no less. This caused your anger and your distrust. The beginning of your future. I'm not one to give pick-me-ups nor do I care about your Midgardian thneeds, but I do understand the power you behold, and I know how dangerous it can be if left unprotected or mistreated. You let your anger get the better of you, don't you?"

I was taken aback. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't that. I wasn't looking for a therapy session nor was I looking for a pen pal-butt buddy, and I certainly don't understand or care to know why he knows so much about me. I care about the fact that he's spot-on. I don't know how to respond. I just stood there, dumbfounded, waiting for him to say something more. It scared me that he knew more about me than I know about myself. I didn't like it. I didn't feel comfortable. I knew I never should have come down here. Clint was right. Why am I freaking out? Why is he looking at me like that? Why am I looking right back at him with the same expression? How could this possibly be? Was he reading my mind? No, he can't do that right? Who knows what he's capable of. I'm kind of panicking I guess. He's still looking at me. I guess I should say something.  
"This isn't about me, Loki. Why did you know all that? I thought you didn't care?"

"I don't," He said, a snide expression on his face. He knew he had gotten me afraid. "I care about control. Just like you, I am selfish. Though getting caught was not apart of my plan, it did pay me well. Now I know more about one of my enemies than I ever thought I would have needed. I didn't expect to get something like that out of you so easily, but it just flows off of you in waves I couldn't help myself with pick up on one of them. You never answered my question,"

I open my mouth to speak, but no words make it out in time before the steel gate pushed itself back open and in walked in Clint, along with another man I didn't recognize. I presume it's just one of the shield agents. I make dead eye contact with Barton, and he looks dead back at me. His expression goes from surprised to confused to angry on the brink of a half second. He charges over to me.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! I thought I told you not to come down here!" He looks over at Loki who slowly put his hands up in a surrendering motion. I stood my ground and held my arms over my chest. I faced him.  
"Why are you inside of my ass all the time? It's not like I was doing anything wrong... We were just having a conversation,"  
He was grinding his teeth hard inside of his mouth, his eyes darting back and forth between my two. Similar to how Loki was doing minutes before. I stared right back at him in a staring contest. It was silent for all but 10 seconds before he let out an exasperated sigh, shook his head at me, and then looks back at Loki, glaring. He turned back to me.  
"Listen, you're not my kid. I have no control over you or your actions, but I am your successor. I gave you direct orders not to go anywhere near him which you deliberately disobeyed. I'm disappointed in you, kid. Everyone finally got used to trusting you and then you go and do something slimy like this?"

I gave a him a confused expression, "It's not like I was helping him plan his escape! I was having a conversation with him. I was treating him like a person. Something all of you need to get more familiar with," With that I shoved my way past him and out of the steel gate, past the second Shield agent. I made my way back up the stairs and straight out the front doors. I heard a familiar "ding" from my earpiece and clicked The voice intercom button, letting whomever was on the other side speak. Of course, it was Clint. He asked where I was going, and I told him simply I was going for a jog and I'd be back later. That was the truth. I hadn't even bothered changed out of my uniform and was on my way down past Main Street. Just jogging. No thinking. No talking. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, either. And that was it. Just a simple jog.  
I don't know what happened to Loki after that. When I had come back, Clint informed me that somehow he had managed to escape his holding cell and was missing. He told me he located an unidentified gravitational disturbance and presumed that was him leaving the atmosphere. Loki was no longer on Earth. When Clint got finished explaining this to me, I apologized for 'breaking his trust' as he had described. We talked some more about it and he understood my reasoning, and I understood his. After the discussion had ended, he left to go back home to be with his family and I went back to my room to get some well-needed rest.

And that was the end of that.


	14. uhhh might delete

Where should I go from here? I lost my plan sheet for this and have been busy with school. Help me out? Drop some suggestions

**Author's Note:**

> Review and Share please!


End file.
